Lady of Lorule
by GhostPikachu
Summary: She was born into the end of the world. Lorule was torn to shreds when its Triforce was destroyed. Princess Hilda, born into the position of ruling such a kingdom, must try to lead her people out of despair with herself having no hope of salvation. For her entire life, she has watched her people suffer. When Lorule gets a chance, she must take it. Even at the expense of another.
1. History of a Fallen Kingdom

_**Major A Link Between Worlds spoilers are in this story!**_

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1

History of a Fallen Kingdom

Before the beginning of time, the universe had descended into chaos. The Silver Goddesses looked upon it and decided together to stop the madness and give the world a purpose. Din, goddess of determination, created the land with her willpower. Nayru, goddess of wit, gave this world order by bestowing knowledge of its importance upon the land. Farore, goddess of loyalty, created life and the means to sustain it, granting that life loyalty to the goddesses and to each other.

The three deities left the world to return to their own plane of existence, leaving behind the gift of the Triforce to protect the land they had created. The Triforce could grant the one most heartfelt wish of the person who touched it. It was left in the hands of a fourth goddess, Her Grace Lolia. Eventually, Lolia gave up her immortal form in order to create the bloodline of the chosen hero of the future. She entrusted the Triforce to the monarchs of the land, King Othen and Queen Tara. In her honor, they named the land Lorule.

The Royal Family did its best to protect the Triforce and keep it out of evil's hands, but it was not long until Lorule was torn apart through civil war. Constant strife went on for years with many fruitless attempts by the Royal Family to break up the fighting and resolve the issue peacefully. There was nothing they could do as they watched brothers renounce brothers and hate run through the veins of their country, slowly destroying it from the inside out.

One day, King Othen called on the Seven Sages, the chosen protectors of the Triforce by Her Grace Lolia herself and advisors to the Royal Family. He requested they destroy the Triforce to stop the war. The king was convinced that this was the only way to bring his people together. The Sages held a council and determined that it was the best thing to do for their land. They thought not of the consequences that came with its destruction. They could not allow this war to go on any longer. The Triforce was supposed to protect Lorule, not tear it apart.

The Seven Sages met that evening and used their power to destroy this gift from the goddesses. They stood by each other and kept channeling power from the vast accumulation of magical energy in the Sacred Realm. Spell after spell was cast upon the target until finally, the Triforce slowly cracked and shattered, dust falling on the ground to be swept away by a sudden wind. The full effect of what they had done became known over time.

Just a few years later, Lorule was in a much worse state than war had ever brought it to. Chasms had formed across the land, getting wider by the day. The people of Lorule were isolated from each other as the earth cracked and separated. The sun was constantly hidden by dark storm clouds and much of the Lorulean vegetation had long since shriveled and died. Vicious, bloodthirsty monsters came in hoards and before long the whole country was completely overrun. They preyed upon the last of the wildlife and then turned their beady eyes to Lolians.

The people of Lorule, starving and terrified of monsters, blamed the Royal Family for their state due to destroying the Triforce. No one trusted the government nor did they trust each other. The main trading village of the country, Okirakak Village, became a crumbling and dilapidated town filled with thieves of every sort. The people there took to simply calling it "Thieves' Town" once trade collapsed and criminals flooded the streets. Prices everywhere were very high with no money to go around. Food and clean water were dangerously scarce. Other countries severed trade connections with Lorule, no merchant willing to go near the decaying kingdom.

A group of people became convinced that the key to salvation was to work with the monsters rather than against them. This group founded a cult in which the members wore masks of various beasts they had seen and chanted all day, believing this to call to the monsters for aid finding necessities. The cult was willing to do anything to appease the monsters, making them a major threat to anyone they came in contact with. This made the people even more wary of their own homes, and those who were not too afraid to so much as set foot outside attempted to leave Lorule. Most attempts proved fatal for one reason or another.

No one trusted the Royal Family anymore. King Othen accepted his grievous mistake and did his best to give hope to his people. He did everything he could to try to mitigate the damage done to his kingdom, but to no avail. He and Queen Tara knew that they would not be able to repair their land. They knew they would be made examples of by their own subjects. They knew they would go down in history as the ones who sentenced Lorule to misery. They could only hope that eventually one of their heirs would be able to bring the country out of its horrendous state.

So began the legacy of monarchs doomed from the start who could do nothing but watch their kingdom fall even deeper into despair. Centuries passed. The Royal Family grew more desperate and the people rougher. The once beautiful, prosperous Lorule had become a land devoid of kindness, hope, and trust. Life had been twisted into a sick game of survival, one the citizens of the fallen kingdom were determined to win.

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 **I'm really trying to push for the highest quality story I can produce. I'm trying to focus on detail and I hope that I've painted a fairly accurate picture for you. This is really more of a prologue than anything, so normal chapters will be longer. I'll do my best to update regularly, but I won't post a schedule because I'll probably break it.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds nor do I own the characters from the game.**

 **The absolutely beautiful cover art is by pekobukis on DeviantArt. I will put a link in my profile!**


	2. Helpless

2

Helpless

When Princess Hilda was just a child of seven years, her father had brought her to his study on a stormy evening. Storms were commonplace; nothing seemed to be the matter. The occasional strike of lightning illuminated the dim room and the Triforce symbol on the inky midnight carpet. Thunder boomed outside like the sky marching to its own drumbeat, making the surrounding air quiver. Hilda had never been into her father's study, but she hadn't quite expected it to be in such…disrepair. Letters were scattered all across the room, a closer look revealing most of them to be from angry subjects, ranging from fairly civilized complaints to death threats. The desk by the window was littered with various documents and spots of ink and candle wax.

"Hilda," the king said, "I am not going to be around forever. I want you to look out this window and tell me what you see."

It was a rather odd request, but the young princess obeyed and walked over to the window, skirting around the letters on the floor as if they were poison. The sky was shrouded with pitch black clouds that seemed to cast a shadow upon the earth. Hilda could see the dark shapes of monsters roaming freely as if they owned the kingdom, trampling the grass that was a sickly shade of brown, weeds poking through withered patches of it.

"Daddy, it looks the same as it always does," said Hilda, turning around to look at the king in confusion. Then her face lit up. "Did you put a surprise out there?"

"No, there is nothing out there. I brought you here today because I want you to look long and hard on this land because someday, it will be yours. Tell me, Hilda, do you want to rule a kingdom in such a state?" asked the tall, bearded man, looking down at his daughter, who glanced up at him and softly shook her head. "Well, you do not have a choice. Lorule will likely not recover by the time you become queen. When I pass, this kingdom will fall to you with your mother gone. What will you do with it? Do you think you can do anything at all for this land, which has been in this condition for centuries?"

The princess thought for a moment. "There must be _something_ that can be done. There must be an answer somewhere. We just have not found it yet. I bet the goddesses will help! They're nice, right? And—and even if they don't, we can fix it! Right, Daddy?"

"That is what I thought when I was a child like you. Now I see our situation clearly and I do not think anyone can aid us but the goddesses. But I also do not think that the goddesses _will_ help us. Listen well, Hilda. When Lorule falls under your command, be prepared for your subjects not to trust you. Expect to be threatened fairly frequently and for many to ignore your wishes. This is the kingdom that you will rule and must try to lead out of darkness. Do you understand? You are in a position doomed to fail," said Hilda's father, crouching to be eye level with her. "Remember one thing always. If there is ever any whisper of a chance at Lorule's salvation, you must take it. It does not matter what it is or what the consequences might be. Our land needs it more than anything."

"But isn't hurting other people bad? What if someone gets hurt?" asked Hilda.

It pained the king that this innocence in his princess would one day be shattered. He was worried that leading Lorule would be up to her sooner rather than later, with that infernal plague sweeping through the country at the time. Castle walls could only protect one from so much, and he could not leave the kingdom in the hands of someone so young and naïve. "If a few people have to get hurt, so be it. You must put the greater good above all else. Do you understand?"

"Yes," replied Hilda, uncertainty lacing her voice.

"Now off with you. I have an audience soon," he said, playfully shooing off his daughter. She giggled a little and ran off, her small feet clacking against the smooth stone of the floor.

Hilda made her way through the hallways of the castle, avoiding a spurt of lava through the grates a couple times. It was nothing she wasn't used to. She had been told once that the palace hadn't always been so dangerous, but it had been that way since the Triforce was erased from existence. The braided purple bun on the back of her head bounced slightly as she went along. Hilda wasn't blind. She had been aware of the fact that the kingdom wasn't in great shape. But she hadn't realized the extent to which her people hated the Royal Family, nor had she really understood how dreadful the state of Lorule truly was. Was it really as bad as her father had said?

When Hilda arrived at her bedchambers, she sat in front of the mirror mounted on the lavender vanity she had been given the previous year. It held a small amount of makeup, just enough to make her look presentable but not to the point of being gaudy. She looked at herself, wide ruby orbs staring back at her. Could she imagine herself as leader of Lorule? No, not really. She had always known it was coming, but now she wasn't so sure she would ever be ready for the job.

Three knocks sounded on the door and Hilda told whoever it was to come in. Her ever-loyal nursemaid, Elona, entered the room carrying two small cups of tea with a matching kettle on a tray. The cups bore the crest of the Royal Family all around it in a color palette that started at dark blue and faded into white at the bottom of the Triforce. Only a couple kinds of tea plants were able to grow with the lack of sunlight, but it was something.

"May I ask you something, Elona?" asked Hilda, biting her lip. Had her father been there, he would have let her have it later for a slip in composure like that, but this was the one person in the world who was truly loyal to the princess, caring for her and watching over her. The king was always so formal, even with Hilda most of the time. Was there really a need around those that were trusted?

"Anything, my lady. What is troubling your mind?" replied the servant, noticing that her young ward did not seem her usual chipper self.

"Do you think that there is hope for Lorule?" asked the purple-haired girl, looking Elona in the eye. "Daddy says that there isn't. But there's gotta be something, right? The goddesses wouldn't just let us… _rot_ , would they?"

"The goddesses work in mysterious ways, dear. This land has been in bad shape for a very long time, yes, but perhaps the future holds something good. There is a scrap of good in everything, even in a rough place like Lorule," assured the old woman, adding something to the kettle of tea. "I am going to take this to His Majesty. If you need anything, just call."

"Alright, Elona!" said Hilda, flashing her beloved caretaker a smile.

Surely Lorule wasn't so cruel a place as her father believed…? There was Elona in the world after all, and she said that there was good, so there must be.

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Hilda had been allowed into the courtyard before, just not outside the palace walls. Now she wasn't even allowed that. Her father had told her that the plague was spreading even more rapidly now and he didn't want anything to happen to her. The little girl just wanted to know why. Hadn't Lorule had enough? Why was this sickness happening too? She tried to see the good in it like Elona said to but she just couldn't find anything.

"Are you going to get sick too?" asked Hilda as Elona was putting on a cloak to leave for the day. "Can't you stay here in the castle with us? It's safer."

"I will be fine, my lady. Worry about yourself and your father, not little old me," she said, chuckling a bit. "Besides, I have a sister at home sick with the plague. I cannot leave her there alone. I will see you tomorrow, alright, Princess?" said Elona, smoothing down her dress and putting up the hood on her cloak. The two long black locks in the front of her head hung out, the rest of her hair being covered by both the cloak and the silver cloth she always wore.

"Alright," muttered Hilda, wringing her hands together. She watched her nursemaid exit the castle and hurry across the cracked lilac bridge, entering the common Lorule world and disappearing around a bend in the smooth dirt road, one that she noticed didn't look very traveled on.

The princess promptly turned on her heel and walked briskly towards her father's study. Heavy crimson drapes had already been drawn over all the windows for the night and many of the candles on the walls had burned down significantly. She climbed a spiraling staircase with thin navy blue fabric running down the middle. At the top was the study, of which she knocked on the door calmly.

"Come in," said the muffled voice of the king.

The door swung open with a quiet groan and the girl stepped in, waiting patiently for her father to come to a stopping place in his work. A minute later, he put the quill in the bottle of ink resting on the desk next to him and looked up. He was surprised at the somber expression on his daughter's face.

"Is something wrong, dear?" he asked, concern prevalent in his voice. She only ever wore that expression in dire situations.

"Isn't there a cure for this plague?" queried Hilda, looking at her father with hopeful, almost pleading, eyes. "Isn't there anything we can do?"

"We have every person in Lorule that could possibly find a cure working on it," answered the king. Why was Hilda bringing this up now? "Did something happen?"

"Elona said that her sister has the plague. Do you think she'll get it too, Daddy?"

"Elona has her own business that she needs to take care of. I am not going to lie to you, child. It is entirely possible that she could fall ill as well. But there is not much that we can do until a cure is found."

The delicate young princess looked as if she were about to cry as she curtsied and excused herself from the circular candlelit room. What would she do if Elona went away? The old nursemaid had always been the mother figure in her life. She had never met her own mother; Hilda had been told that she died giving life to her. She thought that was very brave of her.

Hilda felt painfully incompetent, but facts were facts. There was absolutely nothing she could possibly do to stop the sickness from taking even more away from the already-decrepit Lorule.

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 **Thank you GerudoSpirit for the review and your kind words! I absolutely love Hilda as well and there needs to be more of her out there.**

 **And Elona is supposed to Impa's counterpart if that wasn't clear.**

 **I was on a trip all week or I probably would have updated earlier. This is quite a challenging fic to write but I'll do my best to get chapters out there fairly frequently. Thanks for reading and until next time!**


	3. When Dusk Falls

3

When Dusk Falls

 _Hilda hadn't been able to find any good in Elona's passing. She couldn't say she hadn't seen it coming, but when she heard that Elona had fallen ill of that dreadful plague, it hit her hard. Not that she wasn't surprised it had taken this long for the old woman to catch it herself. She hadn't even gotten it from her sister; oh no, her sister had died about a month after she caught the fatal disease. She must have caught it from being out on the streets. The Lorulean princess had even dared hope for a while that Elona would be alright._

 _When her nursemaid passed, Hilda had refused to come out of her bedchambers for a couple days. The king, thinking himself unable to do anything, had left her to grieve alone and brought her meals to her. All too often, she had to stop herself from ringing for Elona in the first few weeks after her death. The voice of light, hope, and all things beautiful in her life had been swallowed by the shadow closing in more every day. She didn't feel like she would be okay ever again. How could she be? Would that not be betraying Elona? But deep down, she knew that the caretaker wouldn't want her to grieve forever. She might have even scolded her for it._

 _The day of the funeral, standing in front of the old lady's grave, Hilda took off her black mourning cloak and laid it on the earth where her corpse lay peacefully underneath. Three crystal-clear teardrops fell onto the cloth with a light_ plip _. She covered her mouth with her hand to keep herself from crying out, with more pressure as seconds passed._

 _"It's cold out here," Hilda whispered, barely managing to choke out the words, her voice cracking as she forced herself to say them. She rested both hands on the cloak. "Thi—this will keep you warm, Elona. I know you worry about me, but I promise I'll go inside soon. I hope you sleep well."_

 _Hilda turned away and did her best to hide the sobbing mess of her face with her hands. Elona would have wiped the tears away and assured her that everything happened for a reason, that something good came out of everything bad. She would have told her to hope for the future—but hope was a luxury Hilda was beginning to think she didn't have._

Four years later, Hilda was as doubtful of the future as ever. The plague had completely disappeared the previous year, but Lorule's already paltry population had dropped even more, shattering the delicate kingdom into a thousand more pieces before Hilda's eyes. At this point, the country might as well have been a mirror without the glass. Hilda loved Elona dearly, but perhaps her words were not true, or at least not entirely so.

"The goddesses have abandoned us!" came a shout from outside. The princess pulled back the royal blue curtain on her open window to reveal that cult stationed at the end of the castle's bridge. She did not know what they were there for, but their eyes seemed to gleam menacingly from underneath the haunting masks. "Our only chance at survival is to follow the darkness!"

Hilda couldn't help but notice that while the kingdom as a whole didn't seem to like the radical group too much, their numbers were growing increasingly exponentially; the general dislike of the cult was diminishing. To her, that meant admitting defeat to the horrid beasts roaming about Lorule. All over again, she felt useless to her people. But maybe she could actually make a difference this time? She wasn't fighting against the forces of nature, so maybe…?

In a moment of steely resolve, she threw open the door of her simple bedchambers and stormed into the long corridor. Torn tapestries that depicted various images from Lorule's history adorned the brick. The only one that remained completely intact was the cloth that showed the Seven Sages of old destroying the sacred Triforce. The melted wax in the torches on the walls shone with her warped reflection was she walked briskly past. Her eyes were like hot coals; the inferno was building itself up, but it wasn't quite there yet.

She almost went right past her father's study, but she stopped in her tracks and turned back. She cracked open the door and peered in at the king busily scribbling something on an old piece of parchment. She thought it best not to tell him what she was about to attempt. He wouldn't allow it. He would tell her to let him handle it, but Hilda was beginning to think that he didn't plan on doing anything for Lorule that didn't guarantee his own safety. He hardly even left the safety of the palace's stone walls; he certainly wouldn't let her leave either.

Once the princess arrived at the towering, wooden castle doors she took a deep breath and stepped out into the evening air purposefully. Dark clouds swirled around the barely visible crescent moon, fading in and out. A thick fog shrouded the bridge, with only torchlight visible at the end of the stone. A sudden breeze brought the scent of rot to her nose. Hilda hesitated for a moment, but got ahold of herself and strode towards the silhouettes in the gloom.

"Well, what do we have here?" asked a voice softly, meeting her halfway and gesturing for others to come as well. He crouched to be more or less eye level with her. Hilda was having a world of trouble keeping her face straight. Now was not the time for her boldness to waver. "Why, it's the princess! And what are you doing out here, Your Highness?"

"I have come to discuss matters with your leader," she said, mentally kicking herself at how unsteady her voice sounded. Shadows framed the figure of the man standing in front of her, and she could have sworn his eyes flashed the red color of blood for a moment. _No._ She shook her head slightly to make it go away. She could handle this.

"Then you came to the right place, Highness. What did you wish to discuss?" he queried, sounding like a proper, well-mannered aristocrat. Hilda was not, of course, fool enough to think that was the case. He was the leader of this chaotic mess of crazed ideals. However gentlemanlike he sounded now, he had let a wild animal inside of him loose, letting it savagely tear through his mind and soul. She wouldn't trust someone like that.

"I wish for you to stop this madness," Hilda declared, meaning to sound forceful and in control. Listening to herself, she didn't think she was convincing anyone. _You're just a child. What difference could you possibly make? You're weak. Do you really think they'll listen to you?_ A little voice in the back of her mind whispered doubts to which Hilda had no counters.

"Madness?" said the leader of the cult, standing up to his full height, and cocking his head to the side. He looked like a colossal, venomous snake preparing to sink his fangs into his prey. "My dear, you do not understand. Do you think that the goddesses will aid us or our land? No, of course not. They have long since left us for dead. The monsters are our only chance of salvation. They are the true rulers of this land, and thus we must become them. Then we likewise would become rulers and may regain control of our fates. Do you understand?"

"Those _demons_ out there are mindless, sir. You can do everything in your power to appease them, or become like them, but they will not save you or Lorule. You think that you know what is best for this kingdom, but you do not," Hilda answered, trying to make herself appear taller. It was saddening that someone could be desperate enough to believe such lies. She could not, however, bring herself to pity this man. Actions had consequences, and his were the aid in the division of Lorule's people.

"Ah, it seems that our young lady here does not understand. That is very unfortunate. You see, Highness, we cannot allow someone who will make decisions to displease the monsters to continue being on top," said the cult leader. "We will tear down the Royal Family to make way for a new era. We will spill their filthy blood on this earth."

"Salvation! Salvation!" chanted the rest of the group, raising their arms to the sky. Torchlight gleamed through the mist, illuminating glimpses of shiny iron in the sleeves of their robes.

"We will start with you," continued the leader, his mouth twisting into a malicious grin. "Restrain her! My friends, this is a grand day indeed. Today, we make progress purging this land of the ones who greatly offend the dark lords. It is indeed a glorious day!"

Two masked women dressed in identical dark green robes shot forward like lightning and forced Hilda's arms behind her back, holding them in place firmly. A lock of navy blue hair fell from the ponytail of one of them and brushed the top of Hilda's head. The woman made no move to fix it. Was she really stuck? Was there no way out of this ghastly situation?

"Let us move towards the Dark Palace!" shouted the leader in a strong, authoritative tone. "There we carry out the sacrificial ritual."

Hilda's eyes widened in horror. Her heart dropped into her stomach and ice ran through her veins like an internal blizzard. She was cold but hot tears ran down her cheeks, much to her dismay. _This is not the time to appear weak!_ Her hands trembled underneath the soft white fabric of her gloves. She began struggling wildly, but the women didn't budge.

Suddenly, a cold, sharp object was pressed to her throat. Hilda instantly went still. One of the women restraining her had slipped a dagger stained red out of her sleeve. The cold steel of the weapon was nothing compared to the chill she already felt in her blood. "Wh-what are you—" she started, but stopped with a small shriek as the dagger pressed further into her neck, drawing blood.

"Don't make a sound. Don't make a move. Understood?" the woman said, returning the dagger to its original position. As the rest of the cult began moving, so did Hilda and the women. She hardly dared breathe. She knew that they wouldn't kill her on the journey to their base, but there was no telling what else they would do.

All the princess could do was pray to the goddesses for her safety. The king would eventually notice that she was missing, but it might be too late by the time he fully understood the situation. What was she to do? She sorely wished that she had never confronted this group of barbarians herself. Why had she ever thought she could handle it all on her own? She wasn't strong or capable of doing much of anything that held importance. In the face of reality, she was nothing but a little girl who fantasized about changing the world. She was just another failure playing at war. What a fool.

She fell into unconsciousness surrounded by killers under the thick, black blanket of night, not a star in the sky to light the way. This was a land of death, a barren wasteland filled with bones, slipping further and further away from restoration as time ticked by mercilessly.


	4. Her Captor

4

Her Captor

Hilda awoke on a freezing flagstone floor, a layer of grime covering it. Three thick, steel bars at the front of the cell obstructed her view of her surroundings. She looked up through the grated top to find herself in some sort of cavern. The ceiling of the cave appeared to be made of smooth, manmade stone. Abstract green designs were scribbled on it in seemingly random places. The walls of the prison were made of old brick, starting to crumble in certain spots. Debris was piled in the corner.

"You're awake," said a voice from the other side of the bars, jumping up and unlocking a hidden door. He came in cautiously with a small bowl of steaming food. Hilda gave him a leery look and studied the boy standing in front of her. He looked about the same age as she, maybe a year or two older. He was dressed in a brown robe much like the rest of the cult, only Hilda saw no dagger in his sleeve. He wore the mask of a Hinox askew, so that the one eye lined up with his real eye. His other eye was covered by long black bangs, leaving half of his nose and mouth visible.

"Yes, I'm awake," the princess replied coolly, glaring at the boy. He withered under her gaze, turning his head away from her. "What does it matter? I will be dead soon enough."

"Uh, well, I brought you some food. The Elder said, 'can't have her dying on us before the ritual.' It's probably not what you eat in that big palace of yours, but we have to make do, you know? Anyway, this ought to warm you up," the boy said, holding out a bowl of noodles with a couple herbs Hilda didn't recognize floating in it.

"It is not poisoned or something of the like, is it?" asked Hilda bitterly. She glowered at the eye of the Hinox mask with as much contempt as she could muster. "Oh, that's right, you're saving the death part for later."

The boy winced slightly, reaching behind his head to rub the back of his neck nervously. "Uh, sorry? It wasn't really my idea to do the whole kidnapping thing…" he said. This whole conversation seemed so awfully casual given the situation they were in. The whole thing made her want to laugh until her sides hurt and cry her heart out at the same time.

"Why are you talking to me?" Hilda inquired, seeing no reason not to be straightforward at this point. It wasn't like she had much to lose if there was no way out of her predicament. "I should imagine a prison guard to be very demanding and rough, but you are exactly the opposite."

"Well, I guess—" the boy started, only to stop as footsteps approached, accompanied by the _clack_ of a staff hitting the ground. He instantly dived towards the door and closed it, standing outside of Hilda's view once more. She heard a key turning into place. A moment passed. "Elder!" he half-shouted, his voice cracking.

"Is the prisoner awake, Ravio?" said the same voice from the bridge, sounding just as calm and collected as before. Hilda felt the familiar rush of ice at the sound of it, knowing the savagery that lay beneath the deceptively smooth tone.

"Yes, sir! I gave her some food and told her to, uh, shut her stupid mouth. Yeah," answered "Ravio," sounding quite unconvincing. If he weren't a part of this dastardly cult, she wouldn't think him capable of hurting a fly—but she still wasn't really sure _why_ he acted the way he had around her or why he was lying about it, so she refused to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"Good. Bring her to the front of the Dark Palace at once so she can help with preparations for the ritual the day after tomorrow. We might as well get some use out of her rather than have her sitting pretty and doing nothing. Do I need to call someone to help you restrain her while you move her?" the Elder said, disdain towards the princess prominent in his voice.

"She doesn't look strong. I can handle it, sir," replied Ravio, his feet scraping against the floor as he turned around to open the cell entrance. Hilda didn't bother to be offended by what he said because it was, quite frankly, door swung open and the boy strode in with the Elder close behind.

"If you insist. Here is some rope to tie her wrists. _And make sure to do it right._ This is a very important occasion and I expect everyone, especially you, to make sure that all goes well," said the Elder, handing a thick, coarse rope to Ravio. "I will alert the guards that the prisoner is supposed to be out."

Ravio nodded and the older man exited the cell. As soon as he was sure the other was out of earshot, he turned back to Hilda, looking at the rope in his hands. They stared at each other in a moment of silence, Hilda questioning the moral standing of this boy. He didn't really seem to want to hurt anyone…so why was he a part of this cult? Or was he just that good of an actor? Until she knew otherwise, she was determined to assume the latter.

"Don't waste your time apologizing," said Hilda sharply, turning around and crossing her wrists behind her back. Ravio, less hesitantly than any of his other actions, bound her hands and murmured that he hadn't planned on apologizing anyway. Hilda said nothing, choosing to simply tell herself that this was it. Had she really thought she was different from those who came before her?

Ravio walked behind Hilda, directing her path and giving her the occasional light shove. Various cult members wearing strange red lights on their masks patrolled the cavern-like space, paying no heed to the passing pair. The walls were also made of stone, but moss almost completely covered them. As he led her deeper into the winding labyrinth, she imagined scenarios of her escape in her head and contemplated ways to get out of the rope. She didn't think she had anything sharp on her to cut it with…perhaps she had a brooch or something else she could use? No, but even if she did, how would she get to it?

"We're here," said Ravio quietly, snapping the princess out of her thoughts. She looked up to see two massive statues on the exterior wall on each side of the centered entrance. It looked like it was a type of monster wearing some sort of skull. Pillars in between them helped support the palace structure. Cobblestone shone green on two raised rotting, wooden platforms in front of the statues. A weather vane in the shape of a bird with bat wings sat at the right of the entryway. A small river ran next to the palace, its water filthy with pollution. Torches at the front and back of the room were lit with a bizarre emerald fire that Hilda had never seen before. Maybe it was the pyromancy of some monster?

The Elder stepped out of the shadows of the statues soundlessly. "Excellent. Princess, you are going to help prepare for the _Ara de Agnus*_. This is the ritual we will be performing in two days. Do you know what it means? It is the ancient language of Lorule, the _Lingua Lolia*._ The original name of the language is unknown. I would advise you not to try to escape, as it will only end badly for you." Hilda jumped when he began to speak, but had quickly composed herself.

"You would do something to me if I chose not to help prepare for this insanity? You are saving me for this ritual. You won't kill me now," Hilda hissed defiantly, giving the Elder a black look. He seemed to find it amusing, which only angered her more. She was sure that was the idea, but it didn't make it any less frustrating that he wouldn't take her seriously.

"No, we will not kill you until the _Ara de Agnus._ However, we have no qualms torturing you until the time comes," the Elder countered, a lopsided, demented grin stretching across the visible portion of his face. He reached into his sleeve and pulled out a wickedly sharp dagger, gliding over to the princess. He held the blade a few inches from her face, first having the flat side face her. He let her stare at her disheveled reflection for a moment, then turning the knife so that Hilda stared down the point of the blade. "Have you any more rebellious things to say?"

Hilda slowly shook her head and the Elder withdrew, the dagger vanishing from sight once again. He straightened and backed away, looking towards Ravio, who himself looked a little shaken, even with a mask on. Hilda felt very, very small under the Elder's harsh gaze.

"Ravio, you have proven yourself capable of handling prisoners. You are improving, boy. No more of this cowardly attitude. You will escort her and take care of any _situations_ ," the Elder paused, eyeing Hilda scornfully, "that may arise. You will also instruct her on certain tasks. Clear?"

Ravio wasted no time in answering, nodding quickly. The Elder seemed satisfied and departed, leaving Ravio alone with Hilda. The two stood in silence, neither moving. Finally, Ravio reluctantly said, "Let's go." He nudged Hilda towards the door of the Dark Palace, following closely behind.

"What could we possibly need in an abandoned palace in the middle of nowhere?" said Hilda, not liking the atmosphere of the place at all. As its name gave away, it was pitch black. It was also likely filled with monsters. Part of what made Lorule an ideal place for the beasts to settle was the lack of bright sunlight. But _this_ place? It had everything going for the monsters—including people friendly to them.

"We need several things, like one of the _Oculi*_. Those are these eye statues in there that open when exposed to light. Anyway, we should, uh, get moving. So we can get the stuff and the Elder doesn't get mad at me," Ravio said, sounding uncertain. He sounded like that a lot. Maybe that was his normal voice? "So come on. Let's go."

Hilda made her way towards the entrance, trepidation in every step. The pair walked through the arched doorway and into the shadows, green firelight flickering at their backs as they moved forward.

* * *

 _ ***Ara de Agnus is Latin for "Altar of the Lamb."**_

 _ ***Lingua Lolia is Latin for (roughly) "Language of Lolia."**_

 _ **Now I'm aware that there's a New Hylian and Old Hylian language, but I'm not familiar with them or the timeline and frankly, I wasn't willing to research it as I don't feel that Zelda**_ **needs** _ **a timeline. So Lorule's ancient language is Latin by a different name. Big deal. It's really not that important.**_

 _ ***Oculi is Latin for "eyes."**_

 **Thank you GerudoSpirit for taking the time to review after every chapter! I really appreciate it.**


	5. Into the Palace

5

Into the Palace

The interior of the Dark Palace was rather strange. The floor was made of some kind of dark gray marble and put into a diamond-like pattern. The fencing around the gaps between the floor and the platform between them was an off white with a yellow border. The top parts of the walls were very colorful compared to the rest of the room, alternating between lavender and darker purple tiles while the platform was the same dark shade of purple with swirls decorating it.

The only source of light was a few torches scattered around the room and two windows on each side of a doorway on the other side of the gap in the floor. Weak sunlight shone on the two eye statues in the room. Hilda figured they must be the _Oculi_ that Ravio had mentioned. But how were they supposed to get to them? Perhaps there was a switch? There were a few of those in the castle.

Ravio took a deep breath behind her. "Okay. We only need two of the _Oculi_ , so we can just get them from this room without having a run-in with any monsters deeper in," he muttered, more to himself than to Hilda. "I hope," he added, rummaging through his pockets as he talked.

"If you think them to be such magnificent creatures, why do you not want to run into them?" spat Hilda, still cross with herself for getting herself into this. The thoughts just wouldn't leave her alone, whispering her failure in the back of her mind endlessly. She looked up at the ceiling, mildew burrowing into every corner it could. A sudden burst of anger bubbled to the surface within her, breaking her seemingly calm demeanor. "I shouldn't think it matters to me anyway! I will be joining the goddesses sooner than I ever imagined!"

Ravio bit his lip, looking down at his feet. He seemed as if he were debating something with himself. A minute passed in silence. Finally, Ravio looked up, prompting Hilda to believe that he had come to a decision. He walked her over to the left side of the room and pulled out the item he had presumably been looking for before her outburst. They stopped next to what looked rather like a crystal ball, and Ravio set down the item. It was a shiny blue—

"Er…" Hilda choked out, her voice dying as the boy lit the bomb's fuse with a match he had on him. Without a word, they both turned and ran like a Stalfos was clinging to their heels. Ravio dashed onto the platform in the middle of the room, dragging Hilda on with him.

A deafening _bang_ echoed around the space as the platform lurched forward, taking the pair across the gap through some mechanic unknown to Hilda. They stepped off on the other side, but to Hilda's dismay the platform went back across. "How do you propose we get back to the entrance?" she asked, pointing at the only source of real light she had from the entrance side: the two torches by the door.

Ravio's face went pale. He kicked himself in the shin, running a hand through his bangs. "Do you think that a bomb could make it over that wall?" queried Ravio hopefully, a drop of sweat running down the visible portion of his face. A couple bombs were thrown and neither made it over. "Tell me that switch isn't out of reach. Please."

"That switch is not out of reach," Hilda said dryly. "Now then, care to tell me how we are going to get out of this wretched place?" she added. "And carrying two very big eye statues while we do so? Is there anything else I should add to my list of unfortunate events?"

Ravio ignored her, slowly walking over to the first _Oculus_ , and trying to pry it out of its stand. It was lucky that the stand was beginning to crumble at the top edges. He stood up a moment later and unbound her hands, presumably so she could help. The pair fell silent, the only sound being the bits of rock hitting the floor. Hilda didn't bother aiding him; she refused to be used as a pawn for whatever plan sacrificing her was supposed to accomplish.

Minutes had passed before Ravio paused, turning his head towards Hilda. "…Are you going to help?" he asked, his voice monotonous. "Have you forgotten who is supposed to the prisoner here?"

"No," Hilda answered curtly, ripping off her gloves with a jerky motion and coming over to the statue. She was getting angrier by the second, but Ravio still had a point. She was not the one in control here, no matter how outlandish this boy seemed compared to the rest of the cult. She still didn't know whether he was a capable fighter or not, or how far he was willing to go on one thing. She dropped to her knees and began digging as well.

They were close to digging out the first _Oculus_ when Ravio finally said, "To get out, we're going to have to advance through the dungeon until we find the warp leading back to the entrance…" He looked at the door to the next room and let out a quiet laugh that Hilda thought sounded both nervous and forced.

"There is no other way to get across? Only the switch?" Hilda said, getting anxious herself. There was no telling what awaited them in other parts of the palace. She didn't want to think about what might happen to them if they made even one mistake in there. When it came to monsters, she supposed there were things worse than death. Lorule itself was a firsthand account of that.

"Yes," Ravio answered gravely, no color returning to his skin. "W-we must go deeper to go back." Hilda chose not to point out the slight waver in his voice. She kept having to remind herself to keep herself in check since she was the prisoner.

Remembering Ravio's apparent lack of a hidden dagger, Hilda said, "We have some means of defense against monsters, I hope?" She caught Ravio's falter in his step, giving her the answer she needed. So he didn't carry any weapons after all.

"I have a dagger," replied Ravio after a long pause. He was a pretty awful liar. She supposed he wanted to keep up the pretense that he was in complete control of the entire thing, not that it was working in the slightest. How dense did he think she was to miss that?

"It is going to be unnecessarily difficult to get through the dungeon if we do not work together, as much as I loathe to say it," Hilda snapped, increasingly losing control of the pent-up emotion inside of her. She had never imagined feeling so much anger and fear, but she was to blame for thinking herself capable of making things better in the first place.

"Fine," Ravio murmured as he finally pried the _Oculus_ loose. The both of them managed to lift the Oculus out of the stand, but that was all they could do. "How are we going to get this back to the Elder?"

"Do you know where the warp comes out here?" asked Hilda, beginning to cough due to all the grime and dust in the palace. "If so, we could coordinate where we leave the statues so as to place it near the warp since it is nigh impossible to lug this through a maze of monsters and ancient traps."

"Actually," Ravio started, tracing his finger over a circular mark that looked burnt into the floor. His finger came away completely clean, no ash or dust. "I think it comes out right here…I've stood guard at the other end of this room before while the Elder and others did their business here."

"And the warp has to be activated every time a person enters the palace?" asked Hilda incredulously. She had a look at the mark herself, which upon closer inspection was far too perfect to be a burn of some kind. "In any case, how is the warp going to help us if it comes out here? We might as well wait for someone to figure out something is wrong and come."

"I remember now!" Ravio half-shouted, his voice echoing off the walls. "Er," he began more quietly, "the warp is supposed to be helpful but it has to activated every time someone comes to the palace as a defense. So that someone can't come in and do whatever, I guess. But when someone does come through it, the warp activates the platform—don't ask me, I don't know how, but it's probably magic or something—so that whoever is here can get back to the entrance."

"Alright…so we can just leave the _Oculi_ here once we get the other one and then proceed to the warp deeper inside," reasoned Hilda, drumming her fingers on her side. "I suppose the Dark Palace _is_ very old if it has a warp. It is surprising to me that many of these ancient buildings still stand at all—or that magic is still a part of them. Lorule has not seen magic in so long."

"Tangent, Princess. Back to the task at hand," said Ravio, walking over to the other _Oculus_ a few feet away. He knelt down, inspecting its stand. Hilda was relieved that the other one was worn and crumbling as well. It would make this that much easier.

Once that was done, the _Oculi_ were moved neatly next to each other to the right of the warp mark. Neither one of them wanted to be the first to open the heavy marble doors in front of them, but finally Ravio took the initiative and eased them open slowly, wincing at the creaking reverberating around the room.

The room beyond was still, not a sound but the _clack_ of feet against marble. The air was thick and the room smelled musty, which was hardly shocking. Certain parts of the room glowed eerily, such as the shield-like mosaic on the wall across the room. With no other choice, they pressed on.

* * *

 **I know the Dark Palace is not entirely accurate to the actual thing but some liberties must be taken. I apologize for the long wait, but there are three main factors—school, laziness, and the recent release of Pokémon Sun/Moon. I'll try to do that to you as little as possible, but thanks for sticking around!**


	6. Through the Ire and the Flames

6

Through the Ire and the Flames

The high screech of silence rang in Hilda's ears as she and Ravio continued through the room, speeding up more and more as the seconds ticked by. She almost believed they would get across the room unhindered until a sudden burst of flame shot out of the darkness at them, briefly illuminating the space around them.

Hilda and Ravio dived to the floor, earning several scrapes as they landed heavily. The fire lightly singed Hilda's wrist, making her cry out as she hit the filthy marble. Almost dizzily, she got up as soon as she had recovered enough to do so. She looked around wildly through the blackness, color spotting her vision from the light.

"What was that?" squeaked Ravio, his voice cracking. Hilda could barely make out his shaking silhouette, but she hurried over to him and pulled him up. Both of them clung to each other for a false sense of safety that did not come.

Another ball of fire came, but this time they were prepared and ducked immediately. Hilda caught a glimpse of a monster she had never seen before; it was a small red thing covered head to foot in glimmering scales. Its sharp teeth were bared, a dying fire lit upon them. It had one larger scale on its forehead with a wicked horn protruding out the middle. As suddenly as it came, it was over.

"Look for any sign of movement," hissed Hilda, nerves buzzing and keeping her vigilant. As soon she detected the smallest hint of it, she lunged, her foot connecting with something. She put all her power—which wasn't much, really—into a swift kick that sent the creature to the wall, a distinct _thud_ echoing throughout the space.

"Are we good?" asked Ravio quietly. Hilda didn't answer, hardly daring to breathe with all the noise the echo had made. She dared to hope that there weren't more. She was not prepared to face death and never would be, even if she knew it was coming bloodthirsty and soon.

Moments later, skittering sounds trickled in, multiplying far too quickly for anything to be done. They started closing in, forcing Hilda and Ravio to stand back to back. Hilda took uneven breaths, fearing that this was the end. Ravio behind her was still as a statue, sweat rolling down his back and soaking the back of his robe.

 _You told yourself that you would be different. Now is the time to act upon that fantasy,_ Hilda thought, her mind trying to get through the overwhelming fear. It seized her heart and danced around it, screaming at her to just _move._ But she couldn't do it. She couldn't make herself speak or think, her body locking up in panic.

Finally, she barely managed to whisper, "On three. Run to the back." She forced herself to wind up her nerves, ready to spring at any moment. "One." She caught the small glow of a fire igniting inside one of the creatures' mouths. "Two." The smell of smoke filled the air. "Three."

Before she could back out, Hilda roughly grabbed Ravio's hand and took off running, praying to the goddesses to make it as the sound of a dozen charging feet followed. Dust clouded around them as they raced towards the door, both's clothes getting singed by flame as they tried to dodge attacks from behind.

About three fourths of the way across, the bottom of Hilda's dress caught on some piece of ancient debris, causing her feet to slip and snap out behind her. She slid a couple feet forward from the momentum, coming to a sickening stop as the monsters drew nearer. Ravio halted, hesitating before sprinting back to help her. She scrambled to get up, kicking off one of the creatures as she tried to get her speed back.

"Almost there," Hilda said, reorienting herself with haste. She spared a glance behind her at the approaching beasts, feeling tempted to snarl back for only a moment. Finally, the two reached the wall, frantically feeling for the door. Ravio was the one to find it, dashing inside. He waited a split second for Hilda before slamming the door. The creatures threw themselves onto the stone on the other side, the door glowing red in their efforts to burn it down. Eventually, they gave up, returning them to silence.

Ravio slid down the wall to a sitting position, breathing heavily. Hilda did the same, waiting for her racing heart to return to normal. Suddenly, she ripped the bottom of her dress violently, tearing the fabric in long strips and ripping those strips up jerkily. She shredded the fabric up to the middle of her calves, stopping as abruptly as she started to lean back and let herself rest. Neither spoke for a long while, simply recovering from the experience. Hilda ignored the sting on her wrist, choosing to believe the burn wasn't bad and wouldn't get infected. For now.

It was too much. What came next? They weren't even sure that they were going the right way. What if the palace turned out to be a labyrinth? She was not confident that either of them could stand to do that again, which was possible since neither knew where the warp was. They were on the monsters' ground; they couldn't afford to make mistakes.

"Thank you...for helping me when I fell," Hilda said, her voice not much louder than a whisper. She had brought her knees into her chest, hugging them for even a scrap of comfort.

"My life is yours and vice versa if we're going to get out of here. You said yourself, we have to work together. You don't want to and neither do I, but let's just get through this," answered Ravio gruffly, picking at the end of his sleeve.

"I am still the prisoner, yes," sighed Hilda in frustration. "I cannot find it in me to care at the moment due to our situation. Propriety is out of the question at the moment. However, I do care whether you were supplied with any food and water since we do not know where the warp is and how long it will take to find. That could mean life or death."

"The Elder did give me a little bread and a small canteen. I really didn't know why since I figured this would only take...oh, about an hour, I guess. He—" began Ravio, stopping and slamming his hand on the floor furiously. "The Elder is _testing_ me! He knew I was unarmed! He knew I would have to reactivate the warp!"

"No one escapes that snake's trap, do they?" muttered the princess, shaking her head mildly. Maybe if she died it didn't matter anyway, but both fear and pride held her to the living world. "To think I thought I could reason with him civilly."

"How did you end up with us?" asked Ravio, cocking his head to the side. "Not many people go looking for us, you know—I especially don't know why royalty would," He wrung his hands together, nervous habits seemingly back in order. "I mean, isn't your life kind of...perfect? Back at your castle? How much do you really have to worry about stuff?"

"In short, I was under the illusion that I was much stronger than I am. I thought to myself, 'This cult has been a problem for a while. They are outside my door ready to riot. Clearly, I should go outside unarmed and just _talk_ to them.' If anything, I have learned to be more wary the hard way," answered Hilda bitterly, glaring at the ground. "As for my personal life, no."

"At least—" Ravio paused, completely switching his demeanor once again. He stood up, clearly still a bit shaken but much better. He always seemed vulnerable (in her observation in the short time she had even known he existed), but she chose not to point it out. "Well, I guess we are pretty strong. But have you recovered enough? I guess we should get going since supplies won't last long."

"I suppose you are right," replied Hilda simply, standing up as well. She looked down the torchlit stairwell, the same emerald fire flickering in the handles. She was quick to push down the unease surfacing in her mind. She really could not afford this right now.

The stairs seemed to go on forever, winding this way and that. Hilda could hear the occasional something moving through the stony walls, but she had no other choice than to keep moving forward. Finally, the narrow way widened and came out to a huge room. Eerie glowing figures in white cloaks floated aimlessly throughout the room, phasing in and out of walls and platforms as they went. They held lanterns emitting a dim blue-yellow light. Poes.

Hilda had heard of Poes before, and seen her fair share as well. They could be exceedingly dangerous given the chance. Poes were malicious spirits come back from the realm of the dead, filled with enormous hatred for the world with unimaginably deep roots. Rumor had it that the only good part left of the spirit was stored in their lanterns, which was why they always guarded them so closely. Perhaps they felt it was the only real Lolian part left of them.

Personally, Hilda could never think of them without being saddened that so many souls had been consumed by hate because of the nature of Lorule. So many people had been murdered by the heinous beasts roaming around. Perhaps they would have rested peacefully if only the land still had its Triforce…

"Oh no," muttered Ravio right behind her, reverting back to fearful. His face was not very visible, but his voice was an open book. He looked like he was about to freeze again. Hilda could not have that. She gave him a good shove forward, prepared to drag him through the room if necessary. Thankfully, he shuffled his feet forward in a clumsy stealth walk. They used any light they could get, mainly the glow from the lanterns, to attempt to slip into the next room unnoticed.

"Her," came a chilling, gargled sound behind them, hardly even a voice anymore. Neither of them even turned around, opting to barrel away from the creature as fast as their tired legs would carry them.

Hilda had never heard of a Poe speaking before; she wasn't sure they even remembered their past lives. She had the dreadful feeling this Poe was one of her many subjects who hated her for Lorule's state. So either Poes remembered their lives or this one's hate for her was so strong it persisted after death and manifested itself as a spirit. Neither left Hilda feeling particularly satisfied.

Ravio and Hilda barely stayed out of the Poe's reach long enough to reach the next room. The second chase had been short, but both of them were completely exhausted, physically and mentally. It was going to take them more time than they had to escape the palace if they were forced to recover for three times as long as they were in a room every time they left. There had to be another way.

"This place almost seems like a specially designed death trap just for us," Ravio commented, keeping his voice down. He sounded bitter. "I wonder if all these attacks are part of this test?" Oh. Of course it upset Hilda that the leader of the cult had purposely put her through as much as possible before the sacrifice, but she couldn't be sure why it seemed to have Ravio so upset past the point of physical danger.

"Perhaps," Hilda replied honestly. "But that Elder of yours is sorely mistaken if he believes that either one of us is going to fall."

* * *

 **I actually had like 75% of this chapter done weeks ago, but the holiday season is kinda crazy, yeah? I'm late, but Happy New Year!**


	7. The Path of Greed

7

The Path of Greed

Hilda knew that her spark of determination would disappear as soon as something went wrong, and she hated it. Her mind told her that this feeling of being able to overcome anything was all too familiar. It would burn out as soon as she faced something else. It wasn't real determination, her mind said. But her heart was ready to fight, ready to live. What was she supposed to choose? After all, the situation was unlikely to look up.

"But does he want us to fail?" asked Ravio as he slightly adjusted his mask. He chose to sit down; Hilda presumed it was to save energy. "He wants you for the ritual, and I can't think of any reason he would want to get rid of me."

"I suspect this is an attempt to gauge your combat prowess. What prior experience do you have? I have seen no weapon with you," responded Hilda, tapping her index finger on her cheek in thought. "How long have you been part of this…organization? Why even join them if this is how your service is repaid?"

"I've been here about two years. It's…well, it's the only place I have to go. No point in throwing it away," sighed Ravio as he picked at his sleeve. "Sit down, Princess. As you pointed out, we're going to need all the energy we can get to come out alive."

"Would those you call your family really leave you to die?" said Hilda. The question hung in the air uncomfortably, and Ravio said nothing.

"Let's get going. We don't have much of a food supply, remember?" he said, standing up and brushing off the back of his robe. Before she could say anything, he grabbed her wrist and headed towards the nearest wall torch.

Once they had a little more light, Hilda studied the room best she could in the still rather dim light. There was a platform moving around the room in a square pattern, and strange contraptions in the wall were placed directly in the path of it. There appeared to be a chest on the other side.

"What are those?" inquired Hilda, pointing at the nearest device. "Do they still work in an ancient place like this?"

"I don't know," said Ravio, glancing at them, "but they're probably traps. If they still work, I think the trap would activate once we stepped on that platform. So I guess let's leave and find another room."

"What about that chest on the other side?" said Hilda, inching closer to the edge of the floor. "Even if it is a trap, that means that it is guarding something important. That something could be vital to our escape."

"But what if it's nothing?" Ravio fired back, turning around and motioning for Hilda to do the same. "I'm not getting on that platform, and you certainly can't make me. We're going, prisoner."

Ravio may have been the person in charge, but by the goddesses she was not letting this get away from her. Maybe the chest truly did hold something important, or perhaps it was a sick sense of control she got, but the princess leapt aboard the platform defiantly. A small bubble of victory welled up in her chest when Ravio turned and put his hands around his mouth to shout something.

"Get down!"

Instinctively, Hilda crouched. Just as her hands hit the platform, an arrow whistled an inch above her head. She looked to the side to see another arrow preparing for launch inside of the contraption on the wall. So that was what it was for. Keeping her head down as she crouched, she tried to scan for more of the arrow traps up ahead.

Another arrow shot towards her as Hilda stumbled onto the ledge on the other side of the room. Only half-righting herself, she cautiously climbed the stairs up to the chest, ready to leap aside at the slightest stirring of another arrow. Slowly, she opened the chest and peered inside. Inside was a single silver key, seemingly glowing green from the lantern hanging from the ceiling over it.

Hilda put her arm inside to retrieve it and immediately stopped. What if taking the key triggered some other trap? She stood still as a statue for a moment, battling with herself whether it was worth the risk or not. On one hand, the key could be valuable. On the other, it could be a trap itself, a misleading piece of junk.

"What's inside?" shouted Ravio from the left ledge, curiosity apparently having gotten the better of him.

"A key!" Hilda replied, deciding to just grab the darned thing. She had already come to the other side; she might as well. If it was another trap, so be it. She had the arrow one to deal with anyway.

Nothing happened. Breathing an internal sigh of relief, Hilda turned back and waited for the platform, rubbing her thumb along the key nervously. She was already sweating. What if she couldn't dodge the arrows? Ah, but she kept having to remind herself. She kept having to beat it into her head that she was only the pawn in a grander ritual. She was nothing. It didn't matter if she lived or died here. Maybe if she repeated it enough she just might believe it.

The platform reached her and Hilda took a shaky step onto it. Her nerves were buzzing as her eyes darted left and right in search of arrows. She faintly heard the _thwip_ of one launching and cutting through the stuffy air. Momentarily panicking, she leaned out of the way. The arrow pierced a hanging lantern, shattering it. Immediately, darker shadows were splashed across the walls.

With the only sources of light being at either end of the room, Hilda strained her ears for the sounds. Her breathing quickened knowing that she couldn't see the projectiles anymore. She crouched again, her hands clasping around the edges of the platform. She heard another arrow release, but the blood was rushing to her ears and she could not for the life of her decipher where it came from in that second. It whiffled past, nicking her shoulder.

After what seemed like an eternity, Hilda's fingers scraped against marble and she crawled off the platform. Ravio shined a torch down at her and silently helped her up. She was actually a little surprised that he didn't even pretend to be angry at her; perhaps his sense of prisoner and warden was beginning to disappear. Not that he had much of one in the first place.

"Can I see the key?" he said, holding out his palm. She pressed it in and waited as Ravio examined the silver and edges. A scowl, slowly but surely, spread across his face. He handed it back and said stiffly, "The edges are a little bent. Someone used this key and put it back."

"Ah," was all Hilda muttered, stuffing the key into a fold on her dress. Still, it really did puzzle her as to what upset him so much. Was it because he had nowhere else to go? She couldn't imagine Ravio had a close relationship with the Elder of the cult. It certainly didn't seem like it when she had heard the two interact while she was in a cell.

Pressing onward, they left and creeped across the room with the Poes, this time without trouble. Since this time they had a torch so they could actually see, they spotted a rotting wooden door on the far left of the room. They had a silent conversation and darted over, sliding the key into the lock. To Hilda's surprise, the key dissolved into green dust.

"Magic?" whispered Hilda in awe, eyeing the dust as they shut the door behind them. "I never imagined there would be any here beyond the odd flames and possibly platforms, ancient or not. But if someone already used the key, how was it in that chest?"

"It's another defense mechanism, I believe. Once used, the key will regenerate where it originally came from with the wear and tear of the previous use. It's a fragment of magic left built into the framework of the palace, I imagine. But now magic is lost and there's really nothing else to it. No point in pursuing a thing like that now. What would anyone use it for, other than pickpocketing or something?" said Ravio in the process of lighting the torches on the wall with his own. They appeared to be another hallway. "If you ask me, we're better off without it."

That was an... interesting view. Hilda had always secretly wanted to rediscover magic and perhaps foolishly she had assumed that others would want to do the same. Her father had always talked about the glory of the mythical era and the magic that the goddesses had given to the kingdom.

"But it would be an excellent way to restore Lorule," said Hilda.

Ravio stopped and looked at her, his jaw hardening. "Can it even be restored? We used to try. But why bother anymore?" He looked down. "Let's face it; Lorule is cursed and we're cursed."

"Then why is there still magic here? I do not believe and I will never believe that this kingdom is beyond saving. And it is my duty to find the way to do it," replied Hilda, searching for eye contact beneath Ravio's mask.

"A nice dream," he said, finishing setting the torches ablaze. His shoulders relaxed as he faced her. "I think I may know how to find the warp. That key was bent, right? Someone was here and that means we're on the right path. I can prove myself—" His arm dropped to his side.

"To the Elder?" Hilda guessed tiredly, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Pardon my forwardness, but you do not even seem to believe in what this cult is doing. Why would he matter so much to you? He is keeping you in a place you do not want to be, is he not?"

"And what do you know?" Ravio answered coolly. "You've never been outside your little world. You've never seen the horrors that everyone else had had to go through, whether you think you know what pain is or not. You'll never understand us and you can't pretend to. You didn't know I existed until a couple days ago! You don't know me at all."

Hilda struggled to keep a straight face as she stared at the boy that she had finally decided to give a chance. Honestly, what was worth defending about this abhorrent cult? Although, the back of her mind insulted her relentlessly. She didn't understand anything. Ravio was completely right, of course. She hadn't been the one in danger all those years ago from the plague that ravaged her people. She hadn't been the one avoiding the shadows in Thieves' Town all her life.

"I suppose you are right," said Hilda, clenching her fists. It wasn't like she could deny any of that. "Well, if that's settled I suppose we should carry on. I'd rather not have Poes after us. I hope there are not too many winding corridors like this."

Ravio turned around and refused to face her. "We'd better. Hopefully there'll be another clue like the key ahead of us..." He trailed off and suddenly stopped, staring at the floor in front of him and kneeling down. "Come here, Princess. You see this, right? Is that really a trail of rupees?"

Hilda stared over Ravio's head, just as puzzled as he. "It is. Who could have put this here? I do not think anybody from your cult would have a reason to leave all of money strewn everywhere, especially given how valuable it is in our time. I do not think it wise to follow the path."

Ravio looked at her, an incredulous noise escaping his mouth. "I don't care if it's a trap or not, this is valuable stuff. This could feed me for months, and that's with the sky-high prices merchants ask for! Maybe you don't understand, but it's all about 'steal money to buy food' or 'steal food' out there. And I plan to keep this—all of it—when and if we get out of here."

Hilda was hardly surprised. She could admit that she did not have some of the same hardships as the rest of her people, but the constant struggle for food she herself did know of (if even the royalty had trouble procuring food, she hated to think how many had starved) as well as the atrocious state of the economy. She bowed her head in silent acknowledgement and even tried to help him collect, but he slapped her hand away and continued alone, her following just behind.

As they walked, Hilda couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching her. The mosaics of what looked like some kind of shield haunted her in particular. She rubbed her arms nervously as they went. She glanced at Ravio, who was so absorbed in the rupees that he hadn't noticed anything. That or she could be imagining it, but her instincts had served her well thus far so she might as well trust them.

"Do you feel that we are being watched as well?" she asked as she looked around for any trace of another presence. Nothing. Perhaps the anxiety and fear of the last few days was beginning to get to her.

Ravio barely looked up and continued to grab rupees with all speed as he traversed the hall hunched over the money. He didn't pause for a moment, just giving Hilda a simple "no" and moving on. Hilda noticed that the hallway was getting narrower and it had still not branched off since they had put the key in the door and walked in. It was beginning to feel suffocating.

To her relief, it soon opened up into a spacious room with a single torch sitting in the middle on a pedestal. In the light, the tiles looked a sickly color with mixed lavender and green. All of a sudden, a deep growl echoed through the space, making both of them jump and assume the best defensive position they knew how to do. Ravio dropped a few rupees but stuffed them back into his robe hurriedly. They looked at each other and a grim expression slid over Hilda's face.

Hardly daring to breathe, the pair moved forward when the floor began to shake violently. Dust and small rocks fell from the ceiling. Earthquake, perhaps more chasms forming? Before she had more time to ponder it, a resounding thump reached her ears. Another followed, becoming more rapid and getting closer.

"What do we do?" hissed Hilda, crouching and frantically searching for any kind of weapon so they could at least try to defend themselves.

"I don't know!" Ravio snapped back as he searched for something as well.

Nothing.

"I do hope fire works against whatever comes…" Hilda whispered, feeling for an unlit torch along the wall. She found one after a moment of searching, which Ravio lit without hesitation. It was a rather awkward fit for her hand but it would have to do.

A gargantuan foot landed on the tile on the opposite side of the room. It had three grotesque, off-white claws protruding from the scaly skin. The owner of the foot lowered its head into view, nicking the wall in the process. As they collided, a few rupees fell from it onto the floor.

Hilda make brief eye contact with it as its pupil shrunk in murderous intent. It roared and charged.

* * *

 **Have an unusually long chapter to make up for the crazy long wait (I apologize)**


	8. King of the Palace

8

King of the Palace

"Move, move!" screamed Hilda, tackling Ravio as the beast barreled forwards at them. Their torches went flying out of their hands and skidded across the floor, putting out one of them.

Hilda scrambled to get up only for both her and Ravio to get batted away with one edge of the shield-like mask the reptilian creature had on its face. So that was what all those mosaics had been for…she felt like she should have known.

The two of them slammed against the wall, Ravio cushioning Hilda's impact. She heard a sickening crunch come from him and rolled off to help him up. Her palms were becoming sweaty under the stress; she violently wiped them on her dress and carefully moved Ravio. He let out a moan of pain.

"Are you alright?" she asked, glancing back and forth between Ravio and the monster, which currently looked like it was shaking something off of it. They probably didn't have much time before it came over again to attack, but with Ravio in this condition…?

"Of course I'm not alright. I was just thrown into a wall," he wheezed. His breathing quickened when he looked past Hilda. "It's coming this way again!"

Hilda, despite all her usual mannerisms, cursed abundantly and dragged Ravio behind some debris. It wasn't great cover, but it was the best she could do. How in the goddesses' names were they going to get past that thing? Were they anywhere close to the warp?

"Did your back hit the wall?" she whispered to Ravio. The least she could do was see if she could do anything to help the injury.

"More like my side," he groaned. He coughed and immediately winced. "I think I bruised a bone there."

"Elona once said to sit up if you have chest pain…you should do that," said Hilda. "But I do not know how to treat it beyond that."

"Don't have a better idea," hissed Ravio through gritted teeth, allowing Hilda to help him sit upright against the wall. She moved some debris closer to him for good measure, not that either of them really believed it would help very much if the beast decided to charge Ravio.

"I'll get you out of here. I'll get us both out of here," she assured, but she knew it sounded more like she was trying to convince herself more than anyone else. That was exactly it, not that she wanted to think too deeply into it.

"Right," Ravio muttered incredulously.

Hilda chose to ignore that and cautiously crawled out from behind the debris. The still lit torch was lying a good few feet away, but she might be able to do more if she could get a real look at Ravio's wound. Her heart nearly stopped on the way as she desperately prayed that the monster wouldn't notice her. She had just wrapped her fingers around the torch handle and stood up shakily when its eyes locked onto her and it came just outside the reach of the torch's light.

Hilda had squeezed her eyes shut and stood perfectly still, waiting for her demise. But when the thundering footsteps stopped just short of her, she dared crack an eye open. Its yellow teeth were bared at her, but it wouldn't come within the tiny circle of light around her.

 _It cannot touch light,_ Hilda realized as her eyes widened, but she quickly frowned again. The torch was close to going out, and even the light directly around her wasn't enough for two people. Even so, she had to try. It was better than waiting around to be killed one way or another.

"Ravio," she declared with a newfound steadiness to her tone. "This beast will not go nearer to light than the lightest shadow. There is a way out of this if we use the torch."

"It's about to go out. It'll never work," he sighed. "I think we've reached our ends."

"Are you giving up after coming this far?" Hilda never once looked away from the monster in front of her, but her expression hardened all the same. She went towards Ravio a step at a time, finally reaching him.

"Maybe I am," Ravio snapped. He sounded like he was hysterics. "We were doomed from the start. It's been a waste of a life, neither pleasurable nor helping anyone or anything. Better luck next time, only no one _gets_ a 'next time.' It won't matter if we die here, or next week, or next month, or next year!"

"Then let your fear control you for just a little while!" Hilda said in a rather harsh tone of voice, but they couldn't afford to waste time.

Hilda forced him up and they pressed their backs against each other. Hilda held the torch just above their heads, but the light was getting dimmer rapidly. They made a run for the entrance the monster had emerged from when they had initially come into the room, the circle of light shrinking bit by bit.

They had almost reached the tunnel when the fire died and they were plunged into inky blackness. The two of them froze at the same time while the beast following just behind growled. Hilda turned slowly to find herself face to face with a single glowing purple eye. She felt its hot breath blow over her and Ravio as it roared again, luminous purple smoke coming off of it in wispy tendrils.

Ravio was breathing heavily next to her. "I can't run any more. I'm going to pass out if I do."

"Almost there," Hilda stammered. "Only a little longer!"

"It'll just follow us in!" cried Ravio.

They made it inside the tunnel with Hilda practically carrying Ravio, who had collapsed from the pain and was just trying to keep himself breathing. They slammed their backs against the wall, feverishly hoping the creature wouldn't find them.

The enormous reptile stalked inside, the smoke thickening. Suddenly, a downpour of rupees came flooding out of Ravio's robe, crashing against the floor with what seemed like an explosive sound. The monster turned towards the noise, and an idea hit Hilda. It was insane and would likely end in failure, but it was the best she had.

It lowered its head and prepared to ram its armor into the two of them. In her last effort, she grabbed Ravio by the arm and marched towards the thing. Ravio protesting vehemently, struggling with all his might, which wasn't much at the moment. She jumped onto its foot and began climbing with Ravio on her back.

By some miracle, Hilda managed to make it up the leg with all the thrashing it was doing. Ravio opted to cling onto one of the spikes and keep trying to breathe. Hilda figured the pain must be unbearable by now given how much he'd had to exert himself. While he did that, she headed to the front of the beast. If she could begin breaking the armor on it, she could get to its real face and damage it that way. But she couldn't do it without something to break the rock. So, she looked for its weakness.

Her fingers searched frantically for an opening while the beast only seemed to be going more berserk. She was terrified that Ravio would be thrown off in his current condition, only making her search faster. Finally, she found a dip and touched what was distinctly a scale. She went further and found an entire hole. She crawled over the mask and found that the hole was just big enough for her to go into. So, she did.

She dropped underneath the armor and followed a faint purple glow glimmering on the inside, which was lined with thousands upon thousands of rupees. She climbed all the way down to the eye of the monster, giving it the hardest kick she had. It roared and ran forwards, crashing into the walls, which caused hundreds of rupees to fall and slide down its face towards her. She simply tightened her death grip on the edge of the armor and steeled herself.

Hilda wasn't sure how long this went on, but she finally started to see some light. It got closer and closer until the beast had reached it. It ran straight into the light and stopped immediately, completely unable to move. It let out deafening howls, which quickly toned down to whimpers. They had reached the warp, which was glowing bright green.

"Ravio!" she yelled. She even smiled. "We made it to the warp!"

She only got a groan of pain as a response, but it was better than no response. She climbed up the mask with difficulty to find Ravio tightly tucked between two spikes on its back, knuckles white from holding on to one during the thrashing.

"I can't believe we actually made it," he managed to say.

After Ravio squeezed his way out from between the spikes, he stood up with help from Hilda and they slowly made their way down to the warp. Ravio nodded and they stepped through. Before Hilda could blink an eye, they were back on the ledge with the _Oculi_ with the platform in front of them, ready to go.

Hilda insisted Ravio shouldn't try to move something so heavy with his injury, but finally they managed to move the _Oculi_ onto the platform and stepped on themselves. To their immense relief, the platform came to life and jolted forwards towards the outside door of the palace.

"We really did that," Hilda murmured in amazement.

The platform stopped and the statues were moved through the door, where the Elder was waiting with a couple other members of the cult.

"What took so long?" he asked, clearly amused. Hilda could only see a part of it, but he was grinning wickedly.

"We ran into difficulties, sir," answered Ravio lamely.

The Elder had the nerve to laugh, making Hilda want to throw up. He knew _exactly_ what those 'difficulties' were. He was the one who'd put them there! Yet he wouldn't even give Ravio a word of approval or delight that he had passed this test given to him.

"The sacrificial ritual will be tomorrow, Ravio, now that the _Oculi_ are present. I'm afraid it's going to be a couple days later than it was supposed to be, but I suppose as long as the monsters are appeased, it's alright. Please take her back to her cell."

He turned and walked away without another word.

"What about your injury?" Hilda murmured to Ravio. "You should rest."

Ravio said nothing and stiffly led her back to her cell, briefly stepping inside with her. He looked down at the floor. "Thank you for your help in the palace. I…well, I don't think it would be right to sacrifice you."

"I would hope so, but—" Hilda started, but Ravio held out a hand to stop her, taking a deep breath.

"I'm going to thank you by getting you out of this mess tomorrow. Now listen to this…"

* * *

 **Surprise**


	9. Ara de Agnus

9

 _Ara de Agnus_

Hilda walked towards the already bloodied altar. Cult members completely surrounded her, all solemnly chanting "mumbo jumbo" to a beating drum. A line of robed worshippers created a path, forcing Hilda to go forwards. Ravio stood stiffly next to the Elder at the end of it, picking at the end of his sleeve.

Trying to ignore the thumping of her heart, Hilda went over any and all details of the plan. She and Ravio had planned for every scenario they could think of the previous night, but she was still weak with anticipation.

 _"I'm going to be next to the altar with the Elder tomorrow. You'll follow through with the ceremony right up to the actual sacrifice part. When you lie down on the altar, the Elder will say some words and then pull out this ancient knife he has," whispered Ravio, standing next to Hilda in the cell. He constantly checked to see if anyone was coming as they worked in dim torchlight._

 _"Are there any restraints? I need to be able to get up," said Hilda, her brow furrowed in concentration._

 _"No._ _They know they way outnumber you so you have no chance of escaping," Ravio replied. He caught the look on Hilda's face and added hastily, "But we can use that! They may outnumber you, but they still don't really_ expect _you to fight back."_

 _"They will not be surprised for long," Hilda pointed out. "How can I get out before becoming overwhelmed?"_

 _"I…don't know. You just have to be fast. If you're going to get out, this is the only time to do it."_

 _"Would now not be the best time? Your Elder is gone off somewhere and you are the only one guarding me. That would be less dangerous, would it not?"_

 _Ravio shook his head. "I may be the only one in this part of the maze, but the rest of the place is always crawling with patrols, not to mention those stationed at the way outside. But at the ceremony, everyone's going to be in the same place."_

 _"Alright. What is the best course of action once I am on the altar?" Hilda sighed._

She stopped just short of the Elder, who came forward and clasped a necklace of wolf teeth around her neck. He then led her up the tiny set of stairs and subtly gestured for her to lie on it, which she did, on her back. The Elder looked down at her with a smirk only visible to her and looked out towards the gathered cult.

"Mumbo jumbo! O divine bringers of salvation, hear me! Accept this criminal against you as a peace offering, may your kind last for a thousand more years! Beasts, let this girl be a symbol of overcoming all of the wrongdoing towards you!" he shouted, pausing for a moment.

Ravio came forth with an object covered in a dirty white cloth. The Elder nodded and he carefully unwrapped it to reveal a twisted knife with words in the _Lingua Lolia_ carved into the blade. The hilt was made of some kind of jewel, which the Elder closed his hand around, lifting it for the whole cult to see.

Hilda's eyes flicked back and forth from the knife to Ravio's hands as she waited for the signal. The Elder was now standing over her with the knife pointed straight at her chest. She almost shut her eyes in terror but forced herself to keep watching for the signal. Finally, Ravio's hands made an O shape.

"Try," she threatened through gritted teeth, her hands shooting up and wrenching the knife from the Elder's grip. She slashed at him once blindly, and the knife cut into his cheek. He lurched away and held his cheek briefly as blood dripped through his fingertips; Hilda used the opportunity to roll off the altar and run.

"Seize the girl!" the Elder screeched. He pulled another knife out from the sleeve of his robe, which he threw at Hilda. She yelped in pain as she felt its edge graze her side, but she was so close. She couldn't allow herself to feel it just yet.

She skidded across the slightly raised platform and grabbed Ravio's hand, dragging him with her as she darted through mob of cult members. He gasped in pain and clutched his left side.

"This isn't the plan!" he yelled between heavy breaths. He sounded furious. "What are you doing?"

"The Elder was going to discover your plan eventually, and then what would have happened to you? Whatever you may be, you are undeserving of death," she shouted back as they made it to the door with the entire cult on their heels. Hilda slammed it and rushed behind a corner.

The door opened with a bang as the wood hit the stone walls of the cavern and the sound of an army's footsteps beat against the ground. Ravio and Hilda shot each other a panicked look. He ripped one of the tassels off of her belt and slid it down the other corridor as he pushed Hilda behind a particularly thick patch of ivy on the wall, stepping in himself just after her.

"This way!" Hilda heard one of the cultists say, and the footsteps thundered down the other corridor, leaving only an echo that rang in her ears. She hardly dared breathe until a few minutes had passed.

"Come on," Ravio hissed, cautiously slipping out from behind the ivy. Hilda followed and the two began navigating the maze with Ravio leading the way. They crept from wall to wall as Hilda looked over her shoulder to make sure they had not been found.

After what seemed like an eternity, they reached the portcullis blocking the entrance. Only…there was no crank to raise it with. Hilda looked at Ravio apprehensively, who merely shrugged in response. He mouthed the word "hidden" and turned around to search for it. Hilda did the same, furiously digging through rocks.

It was taking too long. Hilda couldn't find any trace of a crank and her hopes of escaping were beginning to fade again, until she felt a nudge against her elbow and looked up to see Ravio pointing at a crank attached to the wall way above either of their heads.

"How?" Hilda whispered.

"Maybe both of us can make it. You climb on my shoulders and get it," he replied, bending down but wincing when he did.

"Your injury…" Hilda gently pushed him up and crouched for him. "Do not argue. No time."

He nodded and climbed on her shoulders. She needed a little support from the wall to stand up, but she managed. The crank was just barely within their reach, but Ravio stretched up as much he could and grabbed it. They nearly toppled over several times, but the crank was turned three times and the portcullis was just high enough for them to slip under.

Hilda went first and waited just outside for Ravio to roll under. She helped him up and together, they set out for the nearest civilization they could find. They walked in an uncomfortable silence, and Hilda looked over to find that Ravio looked like he was about to explode.

"Ravio…?" she said softly.

"What were you _thinking?_ The point of drawing out the escape plan when no one was around was to hide the fact that I was in on it, remember? Now the whole group is out not just to kill you, but me too! I could have stayed, but now I'm out here in this monster-infested wasteland of a country with nowhere to go!" He ran a hand through his hair and absently kicked at the ground.

"But we left the cult behind—"

"No, you don't understand. They'll stop at nothing to get you now. I'm sure you're aware that Lorule doesn't like the royal family, but it's not your average person who would go as far as to kidnap the princess. Nowhere is safe. For either of us," he asserted bitterly, hitting a nearby tree halfheartedly.

"Why do you care so much about leaving them when even you admit they are cruel?" Hilda demanded as she gripped his shoulders and turned him around to face her.

"They may be a lot of horrible things, but they're still my family! They're all I've got."

Hilda let go of his shoulders and looked away. "Family?" she said under her breath. "They're out to kill you now. Is that not what you said? That is very conditional love."

"Doesn't matter," Ravio replied tiredly.

The two walked in silence for a bit, Ravio looking straight ahead deliberately and Hilda staring at the dead grass beneath their feet. He couldn't go back to that cult and he knew it, so why was he so adamant that there was some good in it?

Hilda was the one who finally broke the silence. "Where are you going to go now?"

"I'm not sure, thanks to you," he snapped. "I'll go to Thieves' Town, but it's so far away...I don't think there's much civilization between here and there either."

"And you are afraid of the monsters in between?" Hilda guessed. She rubbed the back of her neck and looked at the cloudy sky. "We may not have known each other long—"

"That we can agree on."

"—But you have done a lot for me in that time. And I owe you many thanks. So, thank you, Ravio. I would not have survived without you," she finished, facing Ravio and bowing her head. She suddenly realized that the ritual knife had been hastily fastened on her belt. "You should take this. It's yours," she added quickly, handing the knife to him. He took it without a word and tucked it inside his robe.

"A life for a life," he said. "That's all it is. Favors don't come free, even for you, Princess. We're even now, so we should part ways. I wish you luck on your way back to the castle."

Hilda couldn't help but deflate a little. It was true that they barely knew each other, but it felt like leaving an old friend after what they'd been through. It was probably for the best anyway. They came from two completely different worlds with two completely different sets of values.

"Best of luck to you as well," she said as they turned their backs to each other and walked away on their own paths.

* * *

 **I'll be out of town for a bit, so I'm updating before I leave! And also, Ripple, I'm not gonna abandon this story. Don't worry!**


	10. A Princess of the People

10

A Princess of the People

A few weeks later, Hilda had managed to reach central Lorule. It hadn't been easy—she'd barely had any food and she was starting to feel sick from drinking from the polluted rivers. She'd done her best to avoid monsters, but she'd had a few encounters, leaving her with several new wounds.

But finally, she stood at the castle gates. Part of the gate had been broken in the commotion the night the cult had come and taken her, and it was just enough for her to slip through. In front of the door at the end of the stone bridge, however, her father had put up a barricade of furniture.

She strode up and began pushing away chairs with her remaining strength, giving up halfway through and sitting on the filthy bridge. She leaned against the side and raised her head to the sky, where she could see a storm coming her way. Thunder rumbled, seemingly shaking her to her core. Candlelight flickered from the window of the study.

Without warning, Hilda broke down and began to sob uncontrollably, pulling her knees to chest and burying her face in the torn fabric of her dress. Where had he been? Where had her father been while she was missing? Had he simply stayed behind the safety of the castle walls to protect his own skin? Had he abandoned her, like everyone else had?

"Father!" she screamed over a thunder clap.

Her wrist hurt. It had for weeks, ever since that fire monster from the Dark Palace burned it. She tentatively unwrapped the sliver of fabric from it to find that it had become greenish in hue. She wanted her father to come and tend to it. She wanted him to tell her that it would be okay, that they would survive like they always had. But Hilda knew her own father well enough to know he wouldn't. He was the sort to be distant and let her handle it herself.

Hilda wasn't sure how long she had been sitting out on the bridge, but before she knew it, her eyelids were heavy and she fell into a fitful sleep, feverish dreams of lanterns and glowing eyes following her.

"Hilda? Hilda!" said a voice, shaking her back and forth.

Hilda opened her bleary eyes to see someone standing over her, trying to pull her to her feet. He had her father's voice. She allowed him to pull her up to a sitting position against the side of the bridge. His hands were on her shoulders for support lest she fall forward.

"Father, are you there?" slurred Hilda. She tried to blink the blurriness away, with some success.

"Yes, it is I! You are alive!" The blurriness began to fade and she saw tears pooled in the king's eyes. "I did not know what to do! I had thought…" To Hilda's own surprise, this show did not move her. Rather, it made her chest swell with a red-hot feeling.

"Did you look for me at all?" Hilda asked with a slight waver in her voice, coupled with a bitter edge.

He looked taken aback, recoiling and looking down at the stone underneath his knees. He removed his hands from her shoulders and folded them in his lap in a decidedly deliberate way. His fists curled as he looked down, refusing to meet her ruby eyes. After a moment, Hilda looked away as well in the tense silence.

"I did not expect to hear otherwise," she muttered with an awful tone that made her want to apologize. But she didn't. A twisted satisfaction bubbled up in her throat and she let out a single hard laugh, immediately covering her mouth afterwards. "Do you care for me, Father?"

The king's eyes widened. "Why, of course, Hilda, but I could not possibly hope to find you. I believed that those scoundrels had ki—"

"They very nearly did," Hilda cut in. "They would have, if not for help that _you_ did not offer. Do not give me excuses, Father, as you know as well as I where the cult base is, or the general vicinity. You could have come. You chose to hide yourself away."

"Must I tell you again? I truly believed that you were dead. I saw no point in getting myself killed when there was no one left to save," he countered. He still refused to look at her directly.

"Surely you saw through their plan. Indeed, they intended to kill me. Indeed, they hate our family. They were not only after me, Father, and I know that. You did as well. It was a trap, but I think I truly believed you would try in the deepest corners of my heart," accused Hilda, her shoulders shaking in a bottled rage. Why was she so angry? Hadn't she wanted him to come and comfort her moments before?

"I have done _everything_ for you, Hilda. I have kept you behind these walls where you are safe. Itaught you all that you know. I have made sure that all these years you did not starve like so much of Lorule has. Do _not_ tell me that I do not care!" he roared. He rose to a standing position.

"That is the problem. You must put our people first. Not me." Clutching the railing of the bridge, Hilda pulled herself up and looked the king in the eye with the chill of a wintry wind.

His jaw hardened. He sucked in a breath and turned away from her, stiffly walking into the castle which now seemed to have a shadow cast over it. He disappeared with a flutter of his tasseled coat around the corner.

Hilda didn't see the king again for the next few days. She assumed he had holed up in his study like he sometimes did, but she soon realized this time was different. She knew she had caused serious damage to their relationship, but she couldn't bring herself to apologize. Everything she had said to him—it made her feel awful, but it resonated in her with a distinct ring of truth. She didn't like it. But she still didn't apologize.

Their relationship only worsened in the following weeks. Hilda would not accept any comfort from the king, and the king would not eat meals with her as they had done before. Neither was willing to make a compromise on any issue or argument that arose.

One afternoon, in the middle of another dispute, five rapid knocks echoed through the castle. Her father immediately pulled her in the opposite direction, but Hilda broke away from his grip and tiptoed to the door, grabbing the candlestick they kept by the front doors. More knocks came, this time faster.

The king stared apprehensively from the next room while Hilda cautiously opened the door, raising her candlestick over her head. She lowered it immediately, for on the other side was the one and only Ravio, wearing his mask that was now partially black with soot. Behind him stood a silky black horse. She did not bother to ask where he got such a beast.

"Who are you‽" the king bellowed as he strode towards Ravio. Ravio jumped and looked his way, glancing back and forth between him and Hilda. "Well? Answer me, boy!"

"Ignore him." Hilda extended her arm between the king and Ravio. "What are you doing here? I thought you went to Thieves' Town."

"They're burning it!" Ravio exclaimed, glancing nervously over his shoulder. "The Elder found me there. They burned my tent first, then they went on to the rest of town! It's bad, Princess, and who knows what else they're going to do…I don't want to ask this of you, but please help!"

What did he think _she_ could do? Still, she wasn't going to sit idly by and let this happen. "They are burning it down?" Hilda repeated, a well of panic rising inside of her. "We need to leave now. Can your horse carry another person?"

Ravio nodded and climbed back up on the horse, extending his hand for Hilda. She started towards him, but the king grabbed her hand. "No. You will not leave and throw yourself into danger!"

Impulsively, Hilda slammed her elbow into her father's stomach and he immediately let go as he doubled over. She sprinted across the bridge and Ravio pulled her up onto the horse, turning to leave.

Hilda looked back at the king. "You are a hypocrite," she spat. "I will be there for my people, even if you will not."


	11. Ashes

11

Ashes

The ride held a tense quiet, which neither one dared break. They sat listening to the sound of hooves crushing dry grass for some time before Hilda sucked in a breath and leaned to the side to get a better view of Ravio, who was sitting in front of her.

"Why did you come to me?" she murmured. Ravio made no indication he had heard her. She was about to ask again when he turned his head towards her for a second. "I am not sure how much good I can do for Thieves' Town," she continued.

"I don't really have anyone else to go to…"

Well, that was about the answer she had expected, though she felt like she had wanted a bit more out of that. The pair fell into another silence as the landscape slowly changed to be flatter and devoid of any trees, a sickly atmosphere descending upon the land. Hilda couldn't help but notice that Ravio's hands were shaking, keeping a deathly tight grip on the reins, but she chose not to say anything. Approximately three hours later, Hilda heard shouts and looked up to see a thick cloud of smoke stifling the bright orange of the blaze. They had arrived.

The both of them hopped off the exhausted horse, Ravio giving it a grateful pat before taking off towards the village. Hilda slammed into him when he suddenly halted, staring straight ahead.

"Ravio, what—" Hilda started. Her voice died as she caught sight of a masked figure calmly strolling into the blaze like it didn't even exist. She glanced over at Ravio, but she was standing on his left side, which had the overgrown bangs covering his face.

"We should go," he declared abruptly.

"Wait," said Hilda, grabbing his arm as he passed her. Her voice was laced with a hint of desperation that she wanted to go away. She searched his hidden face and met Ravio's eye through the mask, her eyebrows furrowed. "This is a chance to _help_ for a change. We cannot abandon the people living here. You brought me here because you wished to help, did you not?"

A part of Hilda knew that this was irrational—after all, was it really worth risking her life to stop a fire that had already ravaged the village irreparably? Would she really be offering any aid at all or would it simply be a reckless thing to do? Yet, Hilda couldn't stand to see one more disaster destroy the lives of her people that she had no power to stop. With all that her father—no, the king—had taught her and all that she had seen herself rushing to her mind and pumping fire through her blood, she didn't _want_ to act. She _needed_ to act.

"This was stupid anyway," Ravio retorted, echoing her own line of thought. "We can't help it now. I thought maybe…but it's out of control. Those guys will _kill_ you! They'll kill me too! We're better off leaving at this point."

Hilda, despite considering herself exceptionally mature for her age, stomped her foot on the ground. It took a great deal of willpower not to strangle Ravio right then and there. This was a part of Lorule at stake. This could be the first step to her kingdom's salvation. It was a hope that she clung to with all her might. "I cannot do that," she hissed.

Ravio made a noise and inched towards the horse. "I'm not doing this. I'm not. I'm not," he said, his eyes flitting back and forth between Hilda and the fire.

"You do not have to. Just give me your canteen."

"But that isn't going to—"

Hilda pointed at a small stream running on the outskirts of town. "I shall refill there."

Ravio looked like he was about to say something before he sighed and fished his canteen out from under his robes. He drained it before handing it to her, flashing her a weak smile. "No point in wasting good water by mixing it with the dirty stuff. But…be careful, Princess."

Hilda took it with a nod of thanks and made a break for the stream. She plunged the canteen into the water and tossed it on the nearest flame. It was taking too long and the amount of water just wasn't enough; the fire kept spreading at an alarming rate. It ate any remaining buildings and spit out parts of the walls or furniture into the street. Still, Hilda kept at it. She had to. This was for her people, the ones for whom she had never been able to do anything.

On her fourth trip to the water, she glanced back and caught the dampened atmosphere around Ravio. It hit her; he really thought she was going to die. Of course she knew the risk, but she had brought up on the single principle that Lorule came above everything. What she was doing wasn't fair to him. He was obviously worried about her, and they barely knew each other. She suddenly felt like she was taking advantage of his rather meek personality. After all, if she was caught then the cult might assume that Ravio was nearby since they escaped together. Guilt began worming its way into her heart.

Hilda stopped and kept looking at him, who was rubbing the horse's nose repeatedly like he was in a trance. He was waiting for her, she realized, even though he expected the worst. She bit her lip, battling with herself internally. She set her eyes upon the flames that had taken and destroyed lives that day. In return, she wanted to destroy it. She couldn't just abandon her deepest resolution. But…how could she be so selfish as to put the only one in the world who would help her in danger? She wanted to take one step forward and another back. She wanted to run in and be the hero she had always dreamed of being for her people. She wanted to run away and live, and live another day. But she could only be one. It hurt, but she could only do so much.

"Ravio!" she called. His head snapped up and turned her way, pulling him out of his trance. He seemed to be surprised that she was sprinting towards him. She hurriedly shoved the canteen in his hands and with a sad smile on her face, said, "Let us leave, and quickly."

Ravio nodded and climbed onto the horse's back, helping her up as well. They sped away, the orange haze getting further and further away behind them. Unlike before, Ravio didn't let the silence last.

"I thought you were going to run in there for sure. I was…kind of afraid for you. What made you change your mind?" he asked.

"I neither have the right nor the desire to dismiss your life," Hilda answered honestly. She looked down at her hands. "While it is true that it is my responsibility and earnest wish to protect those that I can, that does not mean that you are excluded from that. Even if your background is…"

"Bad?" Ravio supplied.

"Yes," Hilda continued. " _Bad._ Besides, I believe that you are very different from them. You helped me when you had no obligation to do so. You did so of your own free will. I do not wish to hurt someone who would do that for me."

Ravio pressed his lips into a frown. "Sorry," he said quietly. "It's because of me that you couldn't help all those other people, right?"

Hilda adjusted her grip on the back of Ravio's robe. "I loathe to say it, but I do not think my help would have made a difference. I am Lolian, not divine. I cannot put out such a big fire with only a canteen. So please do not say that."

Ravio looked pensive for a moment. "You know, maybe you didn't break your responsibility after all. I mean, you saved me by coming back, right? Since the Elder probably thinks we've been together this whole time. And I'm a part of Lorule's people too."

She blinked in surprise before a rare, genuine smile made its way onto her face. She paused and shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She had never done this, not with much behind it, anyway. "Thank you. Truly."

It was little awkward, yes, but Hilda was glad she had said it. A silence once again fell over the pair, but this time it was an amiable one.

* * *

 **This one's a double feature-sorry for keeping you hanging for so long!**


	12. Sun Showers

12

Sun Showers

Truthfully, Hilda dreaded returning to the castle. The last thing she wanted to do was face the king after all she had said to him, even if she did feel rather guilty about it. Especially with her act of hypocrisy, running from that fire like he had wanted all along. So why, she wondered, was she so reluctant to apologize? Still, they eventually reached the familiar weathered lilac structure and slowed the horse to a halt in front of the bridge.

"Do you have anywhere to go now?" asked Hilda, sliding off. "With Thieves' Town gone, what will you do?"

Ravio sighed heavily and ran a hand through his excessively long bangs. "Who knows? I may have to camp out in the middle of nowhere so the, ah, cult doesn't find me." He visibly shuddered at the thought, and Hilda couldn't help but think that he wouldn't last two minutes in Lorule's monster-filled wilderness alone. Let alone the fact that practically no edible vegetation existed out of a few specific areas in the kingdom.

Hilda looked between Ravio and the castle and took a deep breath. "Would you be opposed to staying here? I imagine that the castle is likely the safest place for you at the moment."

"Yes, but I couldn't! You're a princess and I'm just some lowlife kid you ran into," muttered Ravio, wringing his hands and making an effort to look anywhere but at her. It saddened her that he seemed to have such a low opinion of himself after all he had done for her; he had every right to scorn her for her background, and yet he did not.

"I trust you far more than 'some lowlife kid I ran into,'" she said seriously. "If you were who you claim to be, I would be dead. We are in Lorule. My rank hardly matters in your choosing where to live. I…I know that we do not have an old bond, but our experiences are more than enough for me to say that you are my friend."

Ravio looked up, his eye wide. "Friend?"

Hilda laughed, and she felt lighter than she ever had. "I suppose that this is a new concept to us both?"

An ocean-wide smile spread across Ravio's face—or at least, Hilda could see half of one—and he jumped off of the horse. He placed his hand against the cracked stone by the door. "Princess, you're offering me way too good of a deal here. I guess I'll have to take it before you change your mind."

A warm feeling rushed through Hilda as she leapt off the horse and embraced Ravio from behind, who stiffened before relaxing and leaning into her. For the first time in what felt like forever, the clouds in the bleak skies of her world began to part. Maybe she didn't have to be so alone after all. The two tied up the horse in the courtyard and headed inside. Ever since Elona died, Hilda never got to hold the door open for somebody else. Doing it then was quite refreshing.

"Wow," Ravio remarked, looking at all the faded tapestries adorning the walls. They told the story of the war over the Triforce centuries ago. The Royal Family left them there as a reminder of its failures.

He never stopped looking around until Hilda stopped at the door adjacent to her own bedchamber. She hoped he didn't mind, but the castle had been so lonely for so long that she wanted to get to know this mysterious boy better and spend time with the kind soul who had showed her mercy when no one else would.

The door swung open with a loud whine. The room wasn't terribly ornate, but it did have a four-poster bed with an empty chest sitting on the floor beside it. Ancient candles sat on top of a table placed haphazardly in the corner, and the ceiling had the Triforce emblem painted on it. "This will be your room. It will need some… _adjustment_ ," Hilda said, eyeing the thick layer of dust covering the furniture and the peeling paint on the walls, "but I think you will be comfortable. Do you like it?"

Ravio clapped his hands together and stood frozen in the doorway with a big puppy smile, which was answer enough for her. He gingerly stepped inside like he was afraid of disturbing the dust.

Turning away from the door, Hilda faced the direction of the study. "I will come help you in a moment, but first I need to speak with the king about this." Ravio winced at that. "Oh, do not worry. I will make sure that you can stay here, whether he allows it or not."

She silently made her way through dim corridors until she stood in front of the study. But there were two points that made her blood run cold. First, when she looked down, she found the carpet to have a dark trail staining it. Second, she could hear heavy breathing coming from behind the door. All resentment towards the king instantly melted away and was replaced with dread.

Hilda flung open the door and sucked in a breath at the sight before her. The king—her _father_ —lay crumpled against the desk, clutching his distinctly red shirt. She ran over and knelt beside him. Forcing herself not to cry, she tore strips off of the bottom of the dress she was wearing and began to tenderly wrap them around his abdomen.

"Hilda," he wheezed. "You are back."

"Yes, Father, I am here. What happened?"

"I attempted to follow you," he explained with slurred words. "I thought about what you said. You were right; I have been a coward. I have not loved Lorule as I should. But as I passed a small village, one of those cult people wearing a mask suddenly attacked me. I managed to come back here, but—" He stopped with a grunt.

"Do not speak if it pains you, Father," Hilda said. Her voice quivered, but she had to hold it together.

"My time is at an end," he managed to get out. "I must say this now or I will never be able to. Please, Hilda, I ask for your forgiveness. You have shown strength that I wish I had myself, and yet I have scorned you for it."

The dam burst and tears rolled down her cheeks as she gazed upon her father. "You were only worried for me. It is I who should apologize to you. I ran away and did so many things, and yet you stayed by me."

Her father smiled, though it looked more like a grimace with his current state. His breaths were shallow and weak. "I love you, my daughter."

"I—" she started, but his chest had stopped rising and falling. It was horribly still and the room became silent except for the occasional sniffle from Hilda.

She sat on the floor for what felt like days before Ravio came skidding through the door, his frown deepening when he saw the king. He came and settled on the floor beside her. "What happened?"

"An assassin," she sobbed. She stared down at her hands. "I was so horrid to him. I never even told him that I loved him. We fought, and I just ignored him."

Ravio tentatively put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I think he already knew."

Hours later, a crude grave had been put into place beside Elona's. Ravio had paid his respects, but had quickly given her some space. Hilda had placed his favorite quill on the freshly overturned earth for his spirit. She lost track of how long she had been standing there, just letting her emotions come and go. It seemed like the sun that had started to peek through the clouds of her life had been replaced with a thunderstorm in the dead of night.

* * *

 **These kids just can't catch a break.**


	13. At the End of the Day

13

At the End of the Day

"How you holding up?" asked Ravio, who had watched Hilda dust the same shelf for five minutes. They were trying to clean up his room so that he could actually use the space as soon as possible.

She looked up, her train of thought broken. "I am fine. I suppose I am simply overwhelmed at the thought that I will never see my father again."

It had been three days since her father had been killed. While it was true that she had gained a new companion, the castle felt empty, like there was a hole which could never be filled. Maybe she hadn't always been on the best terms with her father, but he had still been the only family she had.

"Not 'simply.' Princess, you just lost your father. You're sad. I get it. I won't judge if you just let yourself grieve. On my honor," Ravio promised as he put his hand over his heart. He sat down on the bed, which had been cleaned and the blankets replaced, and patted the spot next to him. She took it.

"I've lost my parents too," he started. He looked down at his hands. "It's the reason I got mixed up with that cult. See, my parents and I used to travel around—we didn't have a proper home like this one since we were nomads—and that famine from a few years ago killed them. They used up all their food and water on me. I felt _terrible_. I thought to myself, 'I never did anything for them.' I thought it was my fault. But, I realized that I could do one last thing to make them happy."

"My condolences," said Hilda, pausing for a moment of silence out of respect. "What was it? How did you fulfill their wishes?"

"I lived. It wasn't my fault that they died, or at least they would never see it that way 'cause they loved me." The corners of his mouth turned up into a fond smile. "So don't feel like you didn't do anything for him. You don't have to ever get over his death—you just have to move on." He got up and resumed cleaning with a light pat on her shoulder.

Ravio really was something, Hilda thought. She told this to her father when she would go visit his grave. She told him how she was and how she was adjusting to his absence. She always finished those visits with 'I love you.' Perhaps it was a bit sappy, but he didn't hear it much in life, so she felt like she owed it to him in death. Especially after he had been so kind to her on his deathbed.

Even with her father gone, life marched on. Hilda was a little more chipped away, but the world around her continued nonetheless. She had started keeping a diary just to have an outlet for her thoughts and feelings as it became too much for her to handle. It was something Elona had suggested years ago, but she had never felt the need to. Just writing it out helped more than Hilda could have imagined. Sometimes, it felt like a tether keeping her grounded in Lorule.

They finally got Ravio's room free of dust so he could move in without having a coughing fit. He had insisted on staying in the parlor until it was ready, which he claimed was extraordinarily creepy when it was dark, so he had wound up sleeping outside Hilda's door many a night despite her numerous invitations to just sleep inside. The completion of Ravio's space was nice for both of them.

The afternoon that they finished, a knock sounded on Hilda's door as she was writing in her room. Hilda looked up, surprise decorating her features. She had expected Ravio to be in his own room now that it was finally ready.

She stood up and answered the door. "Yes?"

He fidgeted and seemed to choose his words carefully before saying, "Listen, Princess, I hope this isn't a stupid question, but I was wondering. Are you writing a book…? What are you writing it on?"

"It is a diary."

"A diary?"

"A blank book where you can write about anything you wish—your day, or your thoughts, or whatever comes to mind."

He looked taken aback. "Who's going to read it?"

Hilda looked equally taken aback. "It is a book for yourself. You are the only person who will find anything of value in it." Had he really never heard of a diary before?

"Oh, I think I get it. I wish I could try," Ravio said, bringing a hand up to his chin in a thoughtful pose.

"Why do you not?" Hilda asked, perplexed.

"I can't read or write. I was kind of surprised that you could, to be honest. I've never met anyone who could before." Ravio paused and cleared his throat and looked around the room at anything but her. "Do you think you could teach me?"

Hilda looked down. While she knew that the vast majority of Lorule wasn't educated, she had never really thought about reading and writing before. Hilda, who loved leafing through ancient books in the castle's library, hated the thought that Lorule had fallen so much that nobody could even afford a simple pleasure like reading a book. How ignorant she was.

"Of course. I am not a teacher, but I will do my best," Hilda decided immediately, shutting her diary and rummaging through her chest for another one. She pulled out a blue-green book with simplified rabbit head painted on the cover. "We can use this to practice characters and such."

Ravio started jumping around with stars in his eyes. "Oh, thank you so much, Princess! I never thought I'd be able to! I've always wanted to learn, truth to be told, but you know, survival is kind of the only thing that's mattered to me in a really long time and—never mind all that. When do we start?"

"Right now, if you would like," Hilda said with a gentle smile. She handed the journal to him and he took it eagerly.

Not thirty seconds later, they sat at the bare table in Ravio's room while Hilda drew a series of characters representing different sounds. "Let's start with the basics," she said. She carefully pointed out sounds of each character and Ravio followed best he could.

The whole thing reminded Hilda of the times when she was little. when her father would sit her down to help her get a grip on her reading skills. Back then, he had been impossibly patient with her, and Hilda had looked forward to their lessons every day. She had to pause the lesson for a minute and bury her face in her hands to keep herself from crying before regaining her composure.

"You all right?" he asked, putting down the quill.

Hilda took a deep breath and placed her hands in her lap. "This reminds me of the lessons Father used to give. It is fine; we will continue. His passing is a fresh wound. I will heal in time."

"Okay, just don't push yourself."

They returned to work and Hilda's spirits rose. She considered passing the joy of reading to somebody else an honored privilege. By the end of the session, Ravio looked tired, but excited. It was endearing. "Again tomorrow?"

"Again tomorrow," Hilda agreed.

So their lessons went on. Hilda thought that Ravio progressed remarkably fast, and she would often spot him in the library, going through the easier books and struggling with the harder ones. Hilda helped when she could, of course, but it wasn't she like knew everything either. When he wasn't reading, he was writing away in that diary of his. It was cozy.

One day when leaving the library, Hilda looked back at Ravio, who was poring over an ancient book on Lorulean flora, noting all the words he didn't know in his journal. She smiled as she remembered how he looked when she first met him—he had been terrified, withdrawn, and just overall unhappy. Now, he practically glowed compared to then. It was truly a lovely sight for Hilda, who rarely saw anything but dreary expressions since Elona had passed away.

Maybe saving Lorule was an awfully big goal to start with after all. Just seeing how happy she was making Ravio by teaching him to read and write…maybe she could start smaller. If she could help just one person, then that was a step in the right direction.

The heavens had taken Elona and her father away from her, but at the end of the day, she was never alone.

* * *

 **I'm sorry these chapters always take forever. But the next one will be soon because I'm working on it right now and am very excited for it ;)**


	14. The Tome of Secrets

14

The Tome of Secrets

Months later, Ravio and Hilda had settled into a comfortable routine.

"Hey, Princess," said Ravio one day, setting his fork down next to his breakfast plate. "It's my birthday today."

"Really?" Hilda exclaimed, snapping up from the book she was reading. She laughed. "Ravio, I am afraid we have quite the coincidence in our midst. It is also my birthday."

They stared at each other for a moment.

Hilda rested her chin in her palm. "How old are you now?"

"Fourteen."

She nodded. "Thirteen."

"I've got a present for you then," Ravio said. He seemed to be psyching himself up for something. "It's well…Princess, you've been very, very kind to me this past year. I have nothing else to offer but my complete trust. I guess I've been holding off on doing this because some part of me always thought that this can't be real, but I'm ready to give it to you now." He reached up and tore off his mask, shoving the long part of his bangs out of the way as well.

"Oh," was all Hilda managed to say.

She honestly wasn't sure what it was she had expected. His face had far too many barely visible scars. His eyes were an emerald green to contrast her ruby ones. They say that eyes are the windows to the soul; looking at Ravio's, it was no wonder he'd kept his mask on for so long. His windows were curtained, carefully examining her face for the distrust he was still somewhat used to. They darted around with what could only be nerves.

Hilda cleared her throat. "Thank you, Ravio. I am honored that you trust me enough to take off your mask. I hope that I can live up to that trust. You have my full confidence as well."

Ravio smiled absolutely radiantly and clapped his hands together, his eyes lighting up. "Princess—"

Hilda held up a hand. "Wait. I cannot accept your show of trust in good conscience without giving you my own display." She smiled. "You need not refer to me so formally. You can call me Hilda. We are, after all, friends, are we not?"

"Yes."

Hilda walked forward and removed her glove, holding out her hand and extending her pinky. "Then let us swear to always be together."

Ravio hopped out of his seat and met her in the middle, rolling up the sleeve of his robe. He stuck out his own pinky. "Deal," he said. "I never leave you, and you never leave me. We'll always have each other's back."

They locked pinky fingers.

"Prin—Hilda, have you seen all of the older parts of the castle? I found this book in the library," he paused to hold up said volume, "and granted, I didn't understand everything in it, but it mentioned that the castle is partially built with magic. I thought you might be interested."

She most certainly was. "Let me see that book," Hilda said. "I do not ever remember coming across it." She flipped it over in her hands, studying the worn leather binding. The front had a faded picture of a gold rune while the back was blank. The spine held the title, in angular gold script: _Theories of Magic and Their Applications._ "Ravio, this is a textbook dating back to before the war!"

Ravio, his interest piqued, leaned over to get a closer look.

"Where was the section about Lorule Castle?"

Ravio took the book, thumbing through the yellowed pages until he found it. "Here. It says even the bricks hold tiny quantities of magic."

"It's true," she breathed. Then she frowned. "I thought you did not like magic?"

He looked embarrassed. "I don't think it'll solve much, no. I think we're on our own, without any fancy goddesses to help us. But even I have to admit that it's pretty interesting as its own subject. I learned about it when I read _The History of Lorule's Downfall."_

Hilda made a noise of agreement and looked back at the tome in her hands. It had pages of the intricate magical work that had gone into building the castle. The entire foundation had been built on land the original Seven Sages blessed to be prosperous. Not that that had worked out after the Triforce was destroyed. The magic ran through the castle like a spider web; a connected network where each enchantment depended on the previous one and fueled the next one. It even mentioned secret passages and a hidden vault underneath the castle.

"This is incredible." Hilda looked over at Ravio and was once more slightly surprised, despite having already seen his true face. She would have to get used to the lack of a mask. "Would you like to, perhaps, try to find the secret passages?"

Ravio nodded energetically, and so they set off with Hilda leading the way. As the corridors showed more signs of age—crumbling, discoloration, mustiness—the atmosphere became more forlorn. Intertwining cobwebs limply hung from the walls and ceiling; the tapestries were increasingly more moth-eaten and threadbare. Many a scurrying rat startled them both. Hilda was glad she had grabbed a torch off the wall on the way there.

"How large _is_ this castle?" complained Ravio as he looked around vigilantly for any spiders that might decide to drop down on his face.

"I do not know," Hilda answered, her voice reverberating off the walls. "I have never actually been to this wing before. I thought it best left undisturbed since no one had been here for so long, but now I have a reason. Truth be told, I also do not know how old it is. A part of the castle was lost in the chasms that formed after the destruction of the Triforce."

They eventually reached a hallway with several ornate doors; a single door at the end was ajar. The pair glanced at each other uneasily before Hilda walked forward and pushed the door open further. A loud, moaning creak echoed through the empty hallway. Their feet scraped against a layer of grime on the stone floor beneath their feet as they shuffled into the room.

Hilda gingerly stepped onto an ancient bloodred carpet. A four-poster bed sat in the corner of the room with frayed lace on the moldy curtains and sheets. A long-forgotten charred torch lay on the ground by the door. Her eyes gravitated towards a massive portrait over the small rotted wooden vanity. It depicted a beautiful young woman in royal attire with flowing ebony hair, the Triforce painted behind her head like a halo. In her right hand she held a purple scepter. It was faded and dusty, but there was no mistaking who it was.

"This is Queen Tara's bedroom chambers. The last queen to rule before the destruction of the Triforce," Hilda whispered in awe. "I thought that surely the castle of their time had fallen away."

Ravio walked up to the portrait and reached up to touch it. "She must have been devastated to see Lorule become what it is."

"It cannot have been easy," Hilda agreed. "It is true that King Othen and Queen Tara made a disastrous decision, but…I cannot help but understand their desperation. In the end, all they wanted was peace. Yet they bore the burden the rest of their lives, knowing they doomed their own kingdom."

"It's a wonder they didn't go mad."

"Indeed."

Ravio furrowed his brows as he leaned closer to the portrait. "Hilda, what's this?"

She came over and he pointed to a faint blue light shining from the underside of the frame. She bent down to better see it and wiped away the dirt and dust with her finger. It was some sort of symbol, but where had she seen it before?

"Oh!" She turned to Ravio. "Do you still have _Theories of Magic and Their Applications?_ "

"Yeah," he replied as he fished the book out of the bag he tended to carry with him inside the castle and handed it to her.

The strange rune on the front matched the one on the frame exactly. She held her torch over it and opened the book to the glossary of runes with Ravio looking over her shoulder. She ran her eyes systematically over the contents until they landed on the match.

"Looks like…" Ravio squinted. " _Aufuretur?"_

The rune flared with light at the word. They both yelped as the ground gave way without warning and they fell through into a void black as night. Ravio reached out and grabbed her hand as they plummeted downwards. Suddenly, the direction shifted and they were falling feet first before they landed on solid ground. Unfortunately, that consisted of landing face down.

"What was tha—" started Ravio. He trailed off and elbowed Hilda lightly. "Hilda, I think we found that vault."

Hilda sat up and gawked at the expanse of artifacts in front of her. She was on her feet in less than a second. In the vault were rows upon rows of polished marble shelves, all filled with ancient tools Hilda had thought destroyed long before her time. There were staffs and spell books and enchanted objects—if it was magical, it was there. She brushed her finger along the shelves as she walked, Ravio looking equally flabbergasted right behind her.

"I hadn't a clue anything like this still existed," Hilda murmured. "Every magical item imaginable—everything is stored here." Something that could possibly save Lorule.

Hilda paused at the end of the row of shelves. Before her stood a large case, and on it some sort of mass of black pulsing energy contained under a thick cube of glass with the Triforce etched into it and painted red. A strip at the bottom of the glass had another rune in the middle. The label read "Remnants of The Destruction."

"You don't think that's leftover magic from when the Sages shattered the Triforce?" Ravio piped up. "I used to hear my parents call it The Destruction."

Hilda cautiously touched the side of the case. "Then we should try to destroy it. Anything that powerful would surely total what little Lorule has left. Glass can only hold it for so long."

"Uh, that seems like a bad—"

Ravio didn't have time to finish his sentence as Hilda placed her hand on the rune and the glass covering shot up in the air, hitting the floor a few feet away. The sphere of energy crackled at a roaring volume and began to shoot off little wisps all around the room, hitting artifacts and knocking them over.

Ravio threw himself on the floor, dragging Hilda with him. They crawled behind a shelf on the next row. Hilda's heart was beating a million miles a minute as she sat up with her back to the shelf. She peeked behind the corner to see complete chaos.

"Stop!" Hilda yelled, rushing out from behind the shelf and grabbing the nearest object. She plunged it into the energy sphere. The sphere hung dead in the air for a few seconds before the pulsing got faster and more intense. Hilda kept her eyes steadfastly trained on the sphere.

The sphere exploded, sending out an enormous gray and black wave of sorts that flew over their heads at breakneck speed. Then, all was quiet.

In time, the pair shakily got up again and brushed themselves off, staring at the mess all around them.

"I think we should deal with that later," Ravio said. "And, maybe we should think about things before we do them."

Hilda silently agreed, with a red face.

They made their way back to the livable part of the castle to be met with the sound of a thunderstorm outside. They were about to climb the stairs when three booming knocks rebounded off the walls of the foyer. Ravio and Hilda shot each other a look and crept down to answer the door, blunt objects in hand.

Hilda pulled open the door warily to be met with a soaking wet man with long red hair and a purple cape. He held a peculiar golden staff with a multitude of flickering colors shifting and swirling off the end. A bolt of lightning struck behind him, accompanied by a startlingly loud clap of thunder.

"Ah, there you are. Allow me to introduce myself." He bowed. "I am Yuga, magician extraordinaire. You called, Your Grace?"


End file.
